


Scoundrels and Knaves

by Lhugy_for_short



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: All the pirate fun, Drunken Shenanigans, Exhibitionism, First-Mate Gladio, Fluff and Smut, I freaking love pirates, IgNoct, Implied Prompto/Gladio/Nyx, M/M, Pirate AU, Pirate Captain Iggy, promptio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2018-12-09 18:41:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 43,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11674902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lhugy_for_short/pseuds/Lhugy_for_short
Summary: It isn't often Captain Ignis Scientia risks bringing his crew to shore, and certainly not to Insomnia where Governor Caelum welcomes pirates with an iron noose. But he can't resist the call of his heart - even when his heart belongs to the son of the very man who hunts them.(At last! The Pirate AU no one asked for!)





	1. Tidings of Things to Come

**Author's Note:**

> I have no excuse for this. Except that I freaking love pirates. Like. Seriously guys. I. Love. Pirates.

The moon hung bright outside his window, full and white and ominous. It illuminated the port town of Insomnia, the thatched roofs of the buildings, the narrow streets and dirty alleys. It lit the surface of the dark water with an ethereal glow, filling Noctis with longing as he gazed out over the bay. The sea called to him as it often did. Adventure, romance, the freedom to shape his own life out on the open waves. The life of a sailor was the life he dreamed of, even as he leaned out the window on the second floor of his father’s plantation high above the town.

There he longed, and he waited. Hours passed. Until, just as his hope was beginning to wear thin, he caught sight of it -- a shadow appearing on the distant horizon. Noctis sat up in window, his heart suddenly pounding in his chest. Gradually, the shadow came into focus. It was a ship, the hull black and the sails the color of crimson blood beneath the haunting moon. _A pirate ship_ , of that there was no doubt. It was the legendary _Regalia_ , home to the most notorious crew in all of Eos. And it had come home.

Noctis flew from the window, throwing naught but a light coat over his bare shoulders in his excitement. He rushed out of his room and down the stairs, stepping lightly so as not to wake the rest of the house. Careful as he always was when sneaking out in the dead of night to make for the coast. Because despite the risks, despite the danger, the thrill was worth it. _He_ was worth it.

Heart racing, Noctis pounded barefoot across grass and cobblestone alike, following the moon closer and closer to the bay. At last, after months of waiting, his Captain had come back for him.

~~~~~~~~

The longboats crested the waves with nary a sound. As they reached the coast, boots slipped into the water with practiced silence. Strong hands dragged the boats ashore, then further up the beach to conceal them beneath rocky cliffs. Not all of the crew had left the ship, of course, but those who had knew to take extra care. They knew the risks as well as the consequences should they be caught here, of all places, right under the nose of Governor Caelum. Coming to Insomnia put their lives at stake, and yet the most loyal of the crew still followed their Captain without so much as a complaint.

Ignis Scientia, better known across the seas as Sagefire, was as young and ruthless a captain as had ever lived. Those who sailed with him knew well just how cold his blood ran, how quickly a thin smile could translate into a dagger through the heart. Some called him soulless, others called him an unparalleled commander. Under him the crew of the _Regalia_ had plundered enough riches to last a lifetime apiece. And yet they continued to raise the flag time and again, driven by the romance of the sea and by their captain whose blackened heart belonged to it.

Well, perhaps not _all_ of his heart.

They had just finished covering the last of the boats with wrack when a sound caught the men off guard. More noises, the sound of small rocks being dislodged by hurried feet on the far side of the knoll.  Hush fell over them, and hands reached for the hilts of the knives and daggers at their sides.

But then a lone figure appeared on the crest of the hill. He was thin, clutching a coat around his frame, his black hair forming a wild and windswept halo around his face. As he searched the beach, his blue eyes caught the light of the moon.

Ignis thought they looked like stars.

“ _Noct_ ,” he breathed, voice filled with reverence and relief, and beside him he heard a snicker.

“Looks like _someone’s_ just as eager as you, huh, Cap’n?" Amber eyes flashed with amusement as Gladiolus turned and flashed him a grin. “How long’s it been this time?”

“Far too long,” Ignis replied, unable to hide the smile spreading across his lips. Atop the hill, Noct’s gaze had at last found him, and the young man was already making his way down to the beach as fast as his legs would carry him. “Do keep an eye on the men tonight, won’t you? I’d rather not have my holiday cut short because of a drunken bar brawl.”

“You got it, Iggy.”

“I mean it, Gladio.” He tore his eyes away from the form of his lover’s lithe form bounding across the sand long enough to shoot his first mate a knowing look. “Have your fun, too, but don’t get so tangled up with that blonde of yours that you forget your job.”

Teeth flashed, sharp and white in the moonlight, as Gladio’s grin widened. “C’mon, boss. You know that’s the whole point of coming to port.”

A final glare in warning was all Ignis could spare. Noctis was fast approaching, and his arms itched to feel him in them. Putting his faith in his first mate’s ability to multitask, he got to his feet and stepped purposefully out of the shadows and into the brilliant light of the moon.

“Iggy!” Noct’s voice carried across the beach, perhaps a little louder than the pirate would have liked, but he smiled all the same. He threw his arms open wide just as the younger man dove into them, easily lifting him off the ground and right up to meet his mouth. Noctis’ legs, trembling beneath a thin layer of cotton pajamas, instantly locked around Ignis’ hips, his arms coiled around his strong shoulders and he kissed him with all the energy his youthful body possessed.

From behind the rocks, several of the pirates let out jeers and whistles at the sight. Noctis pulled back from the kiss with an intake of breath. “You’re not alone?” he blinked into the most stunningly green eyes he had ever seen. A flush rose to his cheeks, though his embarrassment was belied by the grin on his face. Ignis chuckled and kissed him again, taking a long moment to savor the lips he’d missed for so many long months at sea.

“They were just leaving. Right, boys?” He heard rather than saw his crew begin scrambling across the sand and out of sight, but by then he’d already forgotten their presence. “ _Gods,_ it does me good to see you, Noct.”

An almost shy smile spread across Noctis’ lips then as he brushed them over Iggy’ mouth, his cheek, his jaw. “I missed you, too. When I heard your ship had been sighted, I stayed up every night waiting for you. I knew you’d come.”

“Of course. I wouldn’t miss your birthday for all the gold in the world.” Lowering the younger man back down to his feet, Ignis settled instead for tugging his hips close and catching his chin between deft fingers. “Are you ready for your gift?”

Despite the cool night air, Noctis’ cheeks flared with a familiar kind of heat. His dark blue eyes -- eyes that reminded Ignis of the deepest oceans -- shone up at him. “You have no idea.”

Letting their fingers tangle together, Ignis led his young lover across the sand and around to the far side of the cliffs. There, tucked away from prying eyes, was the entrance to their private retreat. A blanket was already laid out atop the cool rocks, along with a lantern, a small knapsack, a bottle of wine, and two glasses that appeared to have been pilfered from a wealthy pantry. Ignis raised an eyebrow at Noct as the dark-haired young man danced ahead of him into the cozy space.

“I thought you might be thirsty,” he said, plopping down onto the blanket and snatching up the cups. He poured them each a generous helping, passing one to Ignis as he settled down at his side and pulled him close. “I mean, I know how hard it is to get good wine so far from port.”

“Noctis, you’re too young to know about good wine.”

“ _Mm_ ,” he answered, holding up a finger while he swallowed down the first large gulp. “Not anymore. Birthday, remember?”

Ignis turned the glass between his fingers in the light of the lantern, admiring the deep red color. The taste was even more exquisite once he'd tried the first sip. “It's Tenebrae make, barrel aged. Noctis, please tell me you didn’t steal this?”

For a moment, Noctis didn’t answer. His lips parted, then snapped back together several times before he settled for a cheeky smile instead. “Would you believe me if I said it was ‘borrowed’?”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think I was bad influence on you.”

A soft _clink_ as the glass was set aside, and suddenly Noctis was climbing into the pirate captain’s lap, draping his thighs on either side of his hips and drawing himself up against him. The move nearly took Ignis’ breath away -- he tossed back the rest of his wine and abandoned the glass in favor of encircling Noct’s waist with both arms.

“You _are_ a bad influence on me, _Captain Scientia_. You’re a horrible, brutish man who couldn’t keep his hands off me in that tavern last year, remember?”

Ignis cleared the husky tone from his throat before answering. “As I recall, _you_ were the one who pushed yourself on _me_ \-- “

“ _Well_ , that’s only because you kept staring at me like you were trying to peel my clothes off with your eyes.”

“Hm. It did work, though, didn’t it?”

Noctis laughed, a sound that rang light and carefree in the privacy of the enclave, and warmed Ignis to the very core of his being. “Yeah, it did. I never stood a chance at resisting.” Lips curved into an adoring smile, Noct caught the pirate’s face in his hands and drew him into a brief but meaningful kiss. “After all the stories, after hearing your name whispered like some kind of legend.” More kisses, heating up as Ignis began to return each one with equal fervor. “‘The dreaded Sagefire, fearsome pirate and scourge of the seas.’ Hard to believe that’s what they call a man like you.”

“Oh? Why’s that?”

“For one thing, you’re a lot better looking than I imagined.”

It was Ignis’ turn to laugh. He hugged Noct tighter into his lap, breathed in the scent of soap and wine and sea salt, and clutched his fingers in the fabric of his coat. “Well, thank goodness for that. I’d never have gotten you into bed with me if you’d found me ugly.”

“Perhaps, perhaps not.” While they talked, Noctis’ fingers had been slowly working open the clasps on the front of Ignis’ vest, until at last he was able to push the offending garment off his shoulders and out of the way. “I’m sure you would have found a way to persuade me anyway.”

Ignis couldn’t find an answer to that, but in the end he didn’t need to. Warm lips found his once more as Noctis melted into him, body and hips rolling down subtly in time with his fervent kisses. Beneath the young man’s coat he was bare save for his thin, cotton pants, a fact which Ignis was eager to exploit the moment he discovered it. His mouth traveled down Noct’s chin, over his throat to nip at the ridges of delicate collarbones. He felt Noct shudder in his arms and doubled his efforts, raising the younger man up until he was able to wrap his lips around a pert, red nipple.

“ _Mmmm,_ Iggy.” The name left his lips in a heavy sigh, Noct’s head dropping forward as he pulled Ignis closer. He shivered at the swirl of a hot tongue and the gentle scrape of teeth against sensitive flesh. Nothing else could compare to the heat of his lover’s mouth sliding over his skin, the hungry way it lavished him, both rough and gentle all at once. Under his clothes, the erection he'd been nursing jumped to full attention, pressing into Ignis’ stomach in a desperate plea.

But to his surprise, that perfect mouth broke away and Ignis turned his face up to regard him with a grin. "All in good time, love. I was actually hoping you'd want to open your birthday present first."

"…This isn't my present?" Noct asked breathlessly as his lips drew into a pretty pout. _That_ earned him an outright laugh, one which sent his cheeks flaring a brighter shade of pink.

"If I'd known you were so easy to please, perhaps I wouldn't have bothered with this, then." As he spoke, Ignis withdrew a small parcel from the back pocket of his trousers. He handed it to his lover, unable to suppress a fond smile at the way his complaints had suddenly vanished. "Go on," he said, encouraging Noctis to peel back the browned paper wrapping.

His gasp was music to the pirate’s ears.

It was a medallion, carved of pure onyx and hung from a silver chain. On the face, the relief of a human skull, intricate in its design, and two garnets set as glittering eyes. Noct was unaware that his breath had caught somewhere in his throat until the press of fingers against his wrist brought him gasping back to the moment.

"Do you like it?"

"I-Iggy…. It's beautiful. How did you…?"

Fingers closed around his own around the medallion and pressed it close to his chest. "Don't ask questions you don't want the answer to. Here, let me put it on you."

Ignis smiled as he draped the chain around Noct’s neck, tracing his fingers along the length of silver across pale skin. It looked good, better even than he'd imagined, and he knew instantly that the trouble he'd gone to to get it had been worth the reward. Noctis, too, took a moment to savor the weight of it against his chest -- a token of favor from a pirate. _His_ pirate.

"I'll wear it always," he said, voice hitching with awe. The words burst like warmth within Ignis’ chest. Still, he smirked as he once again leaned in to kiss his appreciation across the curve of the other’s throat.

"Now, now. I'd hate for all the good, upstanding townsfolk to see you wearing a thing like that. Word might get around, and what would your father think?"

Noctis’ blue eyes were still shining with emotion despite the way he smiled as he answered. "Can you imagine the look on his face if he found out I was so… _familiar_ with a pirate?"

"Not just any pirate. The worst pirate to ever sail these waters."

"Right, a total scoundrel. Doing such _filthy_ things to his son’s virgin body."

Ignis snorted, rudely as he could.

"Well I _was_ a virgin. Until you came along."

" _Mmm_. Remind me again of all the ways I remedied that situation."

"Can I wear this while I refresh your memory?"

Voice a purr, Noctis left no room for imagination as to his intentions when he reached down between their bodies to palm at Ignis’ cock. The pirate captain groaned appreciatively, rocked up into the very welcome (and overdue) touch.

"Of course. But _only_ that. The pants will have to go."   

And off they came, quick as Noctis could hop from Iggy’s lap and stumble out of them. Then he was back again in an instant, pressing his eager body down into his lover’s arms even as their lips met in a burning kiss.

This time, there were no more interruptions. Everything they needed was in the knapsack Noct had prepared. Namely, a small bottle of oil, which Ignis worked so carefully into the younger man’s body. First with one finger, then adding a second and a third when Noct’s breaths became ragged and needy, his own cock weeping for attention between their laps. It only took a few stroke of Ignis’ slick palm to bring him to climax, his soft cries filling the air as he spilled over for the first time that night. Head spinning, body still craving more, Noctis took his brief reprieve on his knees, his lips flying over Ignis’ flesh in grateful turn.

At last their impatience won out. Ignis divested himself of the last of his clothing and sat back against the rocky wall of the enclave. Noctis once again straddled his lap, bringing their lips together in a silent promise. Ignis helped guide him, and soon Noct was gasping his name as the thick length of his cock was pushing inside.

They moved slowly, took their time to remember the rhythm, the feeling of surrounding and being surrounded by one another. For Ignis, Noct’s body felt like home. He felt like a breath of fresh air after hard, lonely months at sea, a treasure so bright and wondrous it brought tears to his eyes. Rocking up into his perfect heat, he buried his face in soft, black hair and whispered his feverish devotion.

For Noctis, Iggy was everything he'd dreamed of his entire life. Danger, passion, adventure, and most of all _freedom._ Since the first night he'd laid eyes on him, Noctis knew his heart would always belong to this roguish, untameable man of the sea. Only when they were together like this, bodies joined in molten desire, hips rolling together like ocean waves, could he truly stake his claim. Once the night was over and their passion cooled, Ignis would leave again, taking his ship, his crew, and Noct’s heart back out to sea with him.

Perhaps that was why, even after a second, powerful orgasm rocked his body, he didn't stop moving. Didn't stop moaning as he impaled himself again and again on his lover’s cock, didn't stop kissing, touching, holding him. That night was all they would have, and Noctis was determined to make it last.

Much later, after both their bodies had finally given in to exhaustion, Ignis rolled into his side on the blanket and drew Noct into his arms. His cock slipped regrettably from his body in the move, but he made up for loss by burying his face in sweat-slicked locks and peppering his hair in kisses.

Noctis laughed softly at the sensation. Thoroughly satisfied, feeling lighter than he had in months, he toyed with the heavy medallion around his neck and hummed. " _Mmm._ Best birthday in the history of birthdays."

"That makes me glad," Ignis said, smiling in turn. "Even if you just mean the sex."

"I mean everything." They fell into a comfortable silence for a while, both fighting off sleep and the inevitability of morning, until at last Noctis spoke again. His eyes were sad, and Ignis noticed immediately that he didn't meet his gaze. "How long can you stay?"

There was a shift. Ignis slid his arms down to Noct’s waist, holding him firmly in place against the curve of his body. "Until sunrise. Our ship’s moored too close, it'll be easy to spot in the morning."

"I see."

"I promise to return as soon as I can. If not the next full moon then-- "

"The one after. I know." Noct swallowed. There was a lump in his throat that wouldn't disappear, kept choking up his words as soon as he tried to voice them. "Do you think… I mean, could I maybe…?"

But Ignis didn't have to hear the rest to understand. They'd talked about this before, more times than he cared to recall. "Absolutely not, Noctis. It's dangerous out there, too dangerous to even consider it."

"But you'd be there! You could protect me, even teach me how to fight."

"Out of the question. Besides," Ignis huffed, glaring at nothing in particular in the space above his young lover’s head. "If your father heard his only precious son had been _kidnapped_ by pirates, he'd send every admiral from here to the Maidenwater chasing after us. I can't risk it."

Noctis, however, remained undeterred. "Then stay with me!" he blurted out, suddenly lifting his head to meet Ignis full on. His eyes were red with unshed tears. "I'll beg my father to pardon you. And if he won't, we can run away together. Somewhere new, where no one can find us. You can take my name, or we can make new ones, it doesn't matter-- "

"Noctis." His voice cut through the rest of the young man’s words, put out the fire in him as quickly as if he'd snuffed out a light. "I love you. I always will. Coming back to you is what gives my life meaning, and yet I've accepted that we cannot be together." The way Noct looked up at him, as if his heart was being crushed under Ignis’ boot, made his chest constrict and words tear like gravel from his throat. "I'm a pirate, and you're the son of the most influential lawman in Eos. Your place is here, with your duties, and my place is out there in the cruel world."

As much as the words stung, as much as Noctis knew in his heart that they were true, it didn't stop the bitter tears. Though he didn't turn and run and leave Ignis alone with his half-broken promises there on the beach, neither did reply. He cried until his eyes were red and swollen, then he wrapped himself around his lover and pulled him into a desperate kiss. They made love again until the moon had disappeared behind the cliffs and the sky began to fill with light.

Then, and only then, did Noctis fall into a bittersweet sleep in his pirate’s arms.

~~~~~~~~~

Gladio awoke to the sound of snoring in his ear. Eyelids slowly peeling back, head still swimming with alcohol and hazy smoke, he blinked at the too-bright light flooding in from the window. There was a weight on his chest -- two weights, he noticed dimly -- and his breath tasted like…

Oh. That explained it. Shielding his eyes, he glanced down at his chest to see two tufts of hair, one dark and braided, the other bright blonde and sticking up like the ass-end of some ridiculously oversized chicken. _Prompto_ , he grinned, and stroked his fingers back through those familiar locks until the lithe body attached to them began to wake.

" _Mm_? Gladdy? What time is it?" the young, freckled man asked, rubbing sleep from his bright blue eyes.

Beneath him, Gladio chuckled. "Who cares, baby? You're in bed with me, what could be more important than that?"

Prompto flashed him a fond smile, smacking his chest before leaning up for a sweet _good morning_ kiss. Gladio had to admit his pride was wounded a bit when the blonde suddenly pulled back gagging.

"Ugh, your mouth tastes like -- "

"Don't say it." On the other side of Gladio’s body, Nyx groaned to life, quickly reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose against what was clearly a new level of hangover. "And are you two _always_ this loud first thing in the morning?"

"Nah," Prompto smiled dreamily. "We’re usually much louder."

His suggestion to prove just that was stopped short when another, very different thought occurred to Gladio’s addled mind. "Morning…? _Morning!_ Shit! Nyx, _off_. Prom, baby, I'm sorry but we gotta go. The Captain’s waiting for us and-- "

" _Shit,"_ came Nyx’s echo a split-second later, and at once the two were tripping over themselves in their rush to get dressed. Nyx hurried out into the tavern proper to rouse the rest of their men, while Gladio lingered behind for one last, fleeting moment with his sad-eyed blonde.

"Hey. We'll be back soon. I promise to find you again." Before Prompto could protest, Gladio tugged his naked body into his arms and kissed him hard, ass-breath be damned. "Don't forget me, baby."

"How could I, you big dumb idiot?" But his smile was brave as he watched Gladio and the others rush out into the early morning light, his heart disappearing with them around the bend.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ignis stood next to the longboats, both of which were already docked at the edge of the water by the time his crew came cresting over the knoll. He took in the sight of them with a sharp glare -- clothes dirtied and hair frayed, eyes bloodshot and (in the case of Gladio and Nyx, at least) covered in telling red marks just above their shirt collars. But impatient as he was, he was in even less of a mood to waste words on them. So he silenced their apologies with a single hand and directed them into the boats.

If anyone noticed his sour mood, they didn't comment. Nor did anyone comment on the fact that Noctis was nowhere in sight, despite his usual insistence to see them all off. Neither, of course, did they whisper about the way their captain stared longingly back at the shore, even after they'd rowed too far away to make out anything but the tall, rocky cliffs.

For his part, Ignis was too caught up in his own sea of emotions to pay much attention to the rest of his crew. Gladio’s wistful sighs and Nyx’s pained groans fell on deaf ears all the way back to the ship. And once they reached the _Regalia_ , he headed straight for his quarters, demanding to be left alone.

Which he would, of course, come to regret later, once he'd figured out his mistake. Had he stayed, had he bothered to call his crew to the deck before setting sail, he might have noticed that something was amiss. That the numbers weren't quite right,  and that under a hat far too large for the head it sat upon was a pair of deep, blue eyes the color of the sea.

By the time he discovered Noctis was on his ship, it was too late to turn back.

 


	2. Stowaway

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noctis probably should have put more thought into things before rushing after Ignis to stow away on his ship. Then again, if he had any sense of self-preservation, he probably wouldn't be dating a pirate in the first place.  
> Also, Gladio is having one hell of a night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tonight's a double update! Yep, two whole chapters at once! There has been such an outpouring of feedback and support for this silly Pirate AU that it moved me to tears. I am _so glad_ you guys are enjoying this, and I promise there will be more to come in the future! Please leave your ideas and suggestions for later chapters in the comments, or send them to me over on [my Tumblr](https://lhugbereth.tumblr.com/).

Night seemed to have fallen too quickly. Gladio stretched his arms up and back, working out the tension in his back and shoulders from a full day of hard labor. Since morning, the crew had slaved tirelessly to get the  _ Regalia _ moving again, from fully anchored to full speed ahead in record time. And their efforts had paid off -- they were already back out on the open seas without a trace of the royal fleet on their tail.

But there was more on the first mate’s mind that evening than simply putting port behind them. All that day their captain had stayed holed up in his cabin alone, not so much as strolling across the deck to bark orders during the entire affair. While they had managed just fine without his command (mostly thanks to Gladio’s own strength, easily worth at least two or three of the other men), that didn’t stop his loyal crew from  _ worrying  _ about him. 

Some whispered that perhaps he had fallen ill. Others wondered if he’d simply had too much to drink, and was nursing a hangover worse even than Nyx. But Gladio knew better. He’d spent too long at Ignis’ side, had sailed with him for too many years not to see when his captain was heartsick. That morning when they’d departed from their secret beach, Noctis hadn’t been there to see them off. His absence hadn’t sat well with Gladio. Whatever had happened between the captain and his lover, he was certain  _ that _ was the real reason Ignis was locking himself away. 

At once, he both sympathized with and rolled his eyes at his captain’s behavior. The aching loss that he no doubt felt was understandable, forgivable, yet what Ignis failed to consider was the very same pain the rest of his crew was facing. All of them had left something -- or someone -- behind at port, returning to the ship slightly less whole than when they had left. All of them were missing a piece of themselves, and clinging to the fleeting dreams of lives they could never have. Lives with lovers, with families, with someplace to call home. 

Gladio sighed. It hadn’t been easy for him, either, walking away yet again from Hammer Head Tavern and the skinny blonde kid who’s bed he’d warmed as long as he could. And so, while he understood Ignis’ sorrow, he also begrudged him the luxury of wallowing in it. 

“Selfish prick,” he muttered to the empty wind, only half meaning it, and pushed himself up from the railing with a satisfying series of  _ pops _ down the length of his spine. It was late, and he was tired to the bone. He’d get some sleep and try coaxing Ignis out of his room in the morning.

The berth was just below the central deck. Already the floor was mostly occupied by the huddled forms of the rest of the crew, and Gladio did his best to step around them as he made his way to his usual post. Flopping down, he tugged a blanket off someone else and tucked it around his own shoulders before settling as comfortably as he could against hard wood. “Night, Dave,” he said, earning a muttered  _ yeah _ in response. “Night, Cid.”

“Shut up.”

“Night, Nyx.”

A pained groan.

“Night, Noct.”

“Good night, Gladio.”

His eyes drifted closed, the day’s exhaustion finally overcoming his spent muscles. The rocking of the ship gradually lulled him deeper, deeper into a sleep-like trance, until….

With a sharp gasp he bolted straight up on the floor, barely noticing the blanket flying off his shoulders in his panic. He reached a hand out for the nearest shoulder and yanked hard, his disbelief written plainly on his face as he stared directly into familiar blue pools. “ _ Noct?! _ ”

“U-uh, hi?” Noctis’ cheeks were flushed red, his lip caught between his teeth in a nervous smile. “Um. Don’t tell Iggy?” 

“ _ Don’t… _ ?” He had to shake his head several time to be sure he wasn’t seeing things. Or  _ hearing _ things because he was pretty sure their captain’s unbelievably stupid lover -- who was now a stowaway and also happened to be the son of the  _ fucking governor  _ \-- had just told him  _ not _ to go charging straight to Ignis about this discovery. Which was exactly what he intended to do as soon as his head stopped spinning. 

That was, of course, if Noctis didn’t scramble away from him first. 

“Oh,  _ hell no.  _ No, no nonono,” Gladio roared, oblivious to the groans and mumbles around them as he snatched the young man up by the nape of his cloak. He pulled Noct kicking and flailing into a headlock. “ _ No _ . You are coming with me  _ right now _ . Pretty sure the captain’s gonna wring your neck for this.”  _ Or mine, _ he thought, swearing under his breath. 

“Please, Gladio!  _ Come on _ , what about honor among thieves?” Noct whined as he was hauled bodily up the stairs toward the deck.

“What’s that got to do with you stowing away on  _ my  _ ship?” 

“Um. T-then how about the, er, pirate’s code? Y’know, the bit about  _ not handing a guy over to his really scary boyfriend?” _

Gladio snorted, his fist tightening its hold on Noct’s cloak. “A, that’s not a real thing, and B, you’re  _ not _ a pirate. You’re  _ collateral.” _

In his grasp Noctis fell silent, the accusation stinging perhaps harder than he’d expected. It sounded an awful lot like the way Ignis had spoken to him the night before at the beach, when he’d basically told Noctis he had no choice  _ but  _ to sneak his way onto the ship. At least, that’s how Noct had interpreted the matter -- If Iggy wasn’t going to take him along or stay in Insomnia with him, then what other choices did he have left? 

The door to the captain’s quarters was painted black, an intimidating and ominous sight positioned directly beneath the ship’s helm. It was in front of this door that Gladio dragged Noctis to a halt, having to bang his fist on it several times before sounds of life could be heard on the other side. At his side, Noct did his best to shrink from view beneath the hood of his cloak as he waited for the inevitable to come.

And come it did, though not exactly in the form he’d been expecting. When Ignis threw open the door and blinked groggily out at them, his eyes bloodshot and his hair as rumpled as his clothes, even Gladio found himself at a loss for words. 

“What in the  _ bloody hell _ could you possibly want?” came the (noticeably slurred) snarl as the captain focused his gaze on first one, then the other intruder. “I made it clear I was not to be disturbed.”

“...Have you been drinking, Cap’n?”

“ _ That _ ,” Ignis frowned, clutching at the doorframe as his balance swayed. “Is none of your business.”

“Actually, I think it is. Thought you might like to know I found  _ this  _ little rat stowing away below deck.” Temporarily shifting focus from his drunken captain to the black-haired young man paralyzed at his side, Gladio none-too-gently shoved Noct forward into the light and unceremoniously yanked off his hood. 

Ignis froze. 

Noctis froze.

Green eyes narrowed and then widened again, and both of them opened their mouths to speak at once. 

“What in the…?”

“I can explain, I-- !

“How did you....?”

“And you were still sleeping so I-- “

“ _ Why  _ are you…?”

“Surprise, Iggy!”

“ _ Noctis?! _ ”

“Please don’t hate me.”

The pirate looked as if he were halfway between crying and throwing up all over the deck, which, if Gladio had to guess, would be a fair assessment of his level of shock. Another tense moment passed without either of the stubborn idiots making a move, so Gladio rolled his eyes and once again stepped in to kill the silence. 

“Well, Cap’n? You know the punishment for sneaks and stowaways. Want me to toss him overboard now, or let the boys have their way with him first?” 

His tone had the desired effect. Ignis blinked like a man waking up to his senses, and before Gladio could react he grabbed Noctis and began to drag him into the cabin. “That won’t be necessary,” he said curtly, and slammed the door in his face. 

~~~~~~~~~~

The captain’s quarters were hardly luxurious, but the room was a sight better than what Noct had seen of the rest of the ship. The walls were painted, for one thing, and the far wall opened up into a row of windows, allowing a perfect view out to the sea beyond. There was some furniture, too -- a worn but elegant sofa, a desk covered in books and rolls of parchment, and a bed as large and inviting as Noctis’ own from back home, all reds and golds and satin trim. Several sconces lined the walls, recently snuffed out from the looks of them. The only light in the cabin came from an oil lamp still burning on the desk, and the moonlight filtering in from outside. But now was hardly the time to indulge his curiosity. 

Noctis winced as the lock behind him thudded into place and he was left alone with a furious pirate captain and his own poor choices. 

Not that he regretted his decision to follow Ignis out to sea, necessarily, because of all the things he’d done in his life  _ this  _ was the first one that had ever felt  _ right _ . No, what he regretted was getting caught so soon while they were still close enough to shore to turn back around. If Ignis ordered it, the whole ship would be heading back to Insomnia before the hour was up, and he’d lose his one shot at freedom forever. 

Whatever it took, he was determined to stop that from happening. 

Fingers trembling despite himself, Noctis raised his gaze at last. “Iggy, I -- stop pacing for a second and listen to me.” 

The pirate captain paused in his tracks and turned to face him directly. His face kept alternating between wide-eyed disbelief that Noctis was actually standing there in front of him, and a sort of helpless frustration for entirely the same reason. But he remained silent, at least long enough for the younger man to attempt to explain himself. 

“Look, Iggy,” Noctis started. “I know you’re not happy with me right now, and I can’t say I blame you. But this was my choice, not that I really had a whole lot of those, and I  _ want  _ to be here so-- “

“We’ve got to take you back. Right now, we have to turn around and take you home.” 

“No!” Pleading, Noct surged forward to twist his fingers into Ignis’ bedrobes. “I don’t want to go back. There’s nothing for me there, not when everything I’ve ever wanted is right on this ship.” And he  _ meant _ everything, from this drunk pirate he dared call his lover to the winds of adventure carrying them to new lands and opportunities untold. 

But from the sudden look of surprise on Ignis’ face, it was clear he was still wrapping his head around the first thing. “Noct…. It’s too dangerous for you to be here,” he said, his voice less stern than it had been only moments before. “You’re no pirate. You’re not even a sailor.”

“Than teach me,” Noctis countered. “Let me join your crew.”

“No. It...isn’t that easy.”

“Then…. Then I’ll just have to get my own crew.”

When Ignis laughed, it was strained, tired. He reached up to cup Noctis’ cheek, regarding him with a sad smile. “What do you know about sailing a ship, hm? Commanding a crew? You’re barely eighteen, Noctis, hardly old enough to even serve on a ship much less  _ captain  _ one.”

Part of him wanted to pout. But the other part of him, the part that recognized an opening when he chanced upon one, curtailed his offense. Instead, he nuzzled into the warmth of the palm against his cheek and smiled. “You’re right. I have no idea what I’m doing. And that’s the point, isn’t it?” Slender fingers traced a delicate path over the front of Ignis’ robes, along the hem of the open collar and right across the bare skin revealed there. The moment his fingertips brushed over Ignis’ throat, he felt it bob beneath his touch and the pirate’s breath catch at the very spot. 

“Everything is new and exciting like this. Now that I’ve had a taste, nothing else will ever be good enough.” His plan was working. Ignis was leaning into the touch, warily but unable to resist as his gaze took in Noctis as if really, truly seeing him for the first time. Deep down beneath his anger, his worries, his harsh words, there was relief, too, at knowing Noctis was so close. And desire. That thought fueling his confidence, Noct pressed on. “I love you, Ignis Scientia. But you can’t keep me away from the sea any more than you can keep me away from you.”

There it was, the moment he’d been waiting for. Emotion swelled beneath the surface, aided by the captain’s somewhat inebriated state until he could no longer push Noctis away. The kiss that followed was passionate, so hungry and tender and desperate all at once, and Noct let the momentum of it carry them both further into the room. Toward the mattress, he intended, though they never quite made it that far. 

Ignis’ back hit the bedpost, the frame shuddering with the force of their bodies rocking together. Noctis had one hand pressed to the pirate’s chest as they kissed, the other tugging at the belt of his robes in an attempt to shed all barriers between them. His concentration was frayed by the fingers twisting in his own hair, the hot breath and taste of wine heavy against his lips. Still he charged on as the energy mounted, and was rewarded by the sound of Ignis’ voice catching in a half-moan the moment his fingers found purchase around the captain’s cock. 

“ _ Noct, _ ” he begged. His head fell back against the post behind him, breaking the kiss but not eye contact. “G-gods….”

“Do you want me, Iggy?” There was a purr in Noctis’ voice that sent what was left of the pirate’s blood flooding south in an instant. As the younger man spoke, he leaned forward to trail his lips in a soft line up from Ignis’ throat to the lobe of his ear, fingers stroking with aching slowness over his throbbing flesh. “Tell me you want me. Please, say you’ll let me stay.”

Whelp, he was officially a bad person. Ignis  _ had  _ to realize he was being manipulated, right? At the very least, he was going to be furious once he figured it out later -- perhaps after he’d sobered up and his thoughts were less...occupied. But for now, with Noct’s fingers teasing his cock rapidly to full hardness and those charming blue eyes drawing him in, Ignis was left little room for argument. 

“ _ Noct _ , “ he said again. His lips trembled with emotion, with need, and Noctis leaned in a little closer. Ready to snatch them up in a kiss the moment he heard the right words. “I-I….”

_ “Hm?” _

_ “...Please stay _ .”

Soft lips stretched into a brilliant smile. “Oh, Iggy!” Noct closed the distance, kissing him hard enough to rattle the bed frame once more. He felt as much as he heard Ignis moan into him, his own fingers tingling with the weight of the other’s cock throbbing hard and needy between them. And he knew it was time to end the teasing and reward his captain for real. Letting his lips linger on Ignis’ for several more heartbeats, he squeezed his hand into a fist and began pumping with vigor. Then, slowly, he trailed heated kisses down the length of his neck, over his chest and stomach where his robes had fallen open, down, down until he was settling onto his knees at Ignis’ feet. The final kiss he pressed right to the swollen head of his cock.

A quick glance above him told him he had the pirate’s undivided attention. Those bright emerald eyes, blown with lust and anticipation, watched close as Noct dragged his tongue from tip to base and back up again, smiling in his gratitude. The act was a promise, too, whether Ignis realized it or not. A promise that, in exchange for a place on the ship, Noctis was willing to do anything to earn his keep. 

_ Very willing _ .

He opened his lips wide and dove forward, letting the taste and heat of Ignis sliding to the back of his throat seal the deal. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Gazing out at the inky black of the ocean, Gladio released yet another sigh. It seemed to be becoming a habit of his,  _ sighing _ , one which he was likely picking up from Ignis. Well,  _ from  _ Ignis or perhaps  _ because of _ Ignis, he wasn’t quite sure yet which. Either way, he knew it didn’t suit him to worry about things that were out of his hands -- like a high-profile stowaway or his captain’s easily swayed heart -- and so he turned his attention to something he  _ could _ fix: his exhaustion. 

Beneath the deck, the berth was a cacophony of grating snores and even less pleasant noises and odors. But to Gladio it was home, oddly comforting as he made his way once more toward his spot by the base of the mast. In his absence, several bodies had shifted and moved, and one form in particular seemed to have taken up residence precisely where he intended to sleep. 

A swift kick to the ass, he thought, ought to be enough to reclaim the spot. “Move it, pipsqueak,” he grumbled, inwardly pleased by the yelp he received as boot met butt. “Find your own bed.”

The figure instantly skitted aside, but not before casting up a dark -- and disarmingly familiar -- blue glare. “You could trying  _ asking _ , you big dumb asshole,” he said, and Gladio felt his stomach flop right into his chest.

Dragging Prompto to his feet, he spared a fleeting moment to wonder just  _ how the hell all these twinks kept getting on his ship.  _


	3. Sagefire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Being the only son of the Governor has its perks, but Noctis has always been more enthralled by the world outside Insomnia. Adventure, danger, and most of all, pirates. Really handsome pirates. Like the one he's staring down at a tavern and wondering just how many of the tales about Sagefire are true....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part two of a double update! This chapter fulfills the "First Time" prompt for the fourth day of [IgNoct week](https://ignoctweek.tumblr.com/) \-- Here we have a flashback to the first night Noctis and Ignis meet. And...all the other firsts that follow in quick succession *cough* :D

He’d had his fair share of terrible ideas in his life. Quite a lot of them, in fact, far more than was probably normal  _ or  _ healthy for someone of only seventeen years. But, then again, Noct was far from normal anyway. 

The son of perhaps the most influential politician in Eos, who had been handpicked by the royal line to govern the often tumultuous seas around the port colony of Insomnia, Noctis Lucis Caelum lived a life most others only dreamed of. His family was rich, of course, especially by local standards, and well-educated, and he had never known a day of hunger or hard labor in his life. Though his mother (an Insomnian herself) had died shortly after his birth, he had never wanted for attention or toys or other children to play with during the often long and carefree days of his youth. 

But as Noctis had gotten older, his interests had shifted from childish games to  _ stories _ . And not just any stories, but the ones he most frequently heard from the hallway outside his father’s study: tales of action, of battles and adventure out at sea. Tales of pirates, who his father assured him were violent, dangerous beasts of men with souls as black as their hearts. To Regis’ dismay, however, the warnings only seemed to fuel the boy’s curiosity, and on more than one occasion he found Noctis wandering around the docks asking questions to people he had no business asking questions to.

One story in particular had sunk its hooks into Noct and refused to let go. It was the story of Sagefire, the dread pirate captain from Tenebrae, whose very name struck fear into those who dared to whisper it. At just nineteen (only five years older than Noctis himself the first time he’d heard the tale) Sagefire had been named captain of the notorious  _ Regalia _ . On it, he had led his small but fearsome crew rampaging through the southern seas, capturing entire fleets of merchant vessels and sinking several of the Royal Navy’s own. His legend had grown over the years, until Noctis couldn’t be certain where to draw the line between fact and fiction -- though his curiosity about the man himself had never wavered. 

Which was why, he supposed, he found himself sitting at the counter at the Hammer Head Inn and Tavern that very night, sipping stale mead and trying to look inconspicuous as he craned his head for a better look. If the rumors he’d heard whispered at the docks for the past week were to be believed, then the crowd in the tavern that night was none other than the crew of the  _ Regalia  _ herself. And among them, somewhere, would be Sagefire. 

Of all the terrible ideas Noctis had ever had, this was surely the worst. For despite the usual noise and bustle of the tavern, there was a tension in the air, too. Noct could feel it in the way the patrons exchanges nervous glances, in the way the musicians clutched their instruments as if terrified to miss even a single note. 

Cindy, the tavern’s young proprietor, had been frowning and cleaning the same spot on the counter for the last several minutes. Her eyes looked troubled as she scanned the faces of the crowd, and Noctis knew she must have recognized them, as well. He was just about to lean forward to ask her about the pirates when a shout rang out, loud and clear even above the din. “More drinks!” the voice rumbled, and Noct turned instinctively to the sound. 

And his heart stopped. 

_ There he was.  _ Noctis knew it in his very bones the moment he laid eyes on him. Not, of course, the one who had shouted --  _ that  _ man was broad and dark-haired and covered in tattoos -- but the one sitting next to him. Tall even seated, lean, with chestnut hair and the most piercing green eyes Noct had ever seen. He was leaning close to his tattooed companion and frowning (or maybe he just always looked like that?), his face lined with too much worry for his age. 

Noct heard the name tumble from his lips before he could stop himself. 

_ “Sagefire.” _

Nearby, Cindy’s eyes went wide. Yet thankfully none of the others at the counter heard him, for at that moment a different voice rose up in answer. “I got it!” came a cheery call, and suddenly a young man with blonde hair came flying around the end of the bar carrying a tray full of mugs and wearing a bright smile. He winked at Cindy, then bounded over to the table of pirates to deliver their drinks. Noctis didn’t miss the way he lingered at the side of the broad, tattooed man, or the way warm amber eyes scanned over him in return. 

The pirates raised their drinks in some toast or another, but as the rest of them cheered and drained their mugs, Sagefire barely took a sip. Not surprising, Noctis thought. The rumors spoke of a brilliant (if ruthless) leader, one who preferred an ever-sharp mind over dulled wits. Even here, in the relaxed tavern at a backwater port, he was evidently keeping himself on edge. 

Noct’s body tightened with something more than just admiration. Being so close to a living legend, it was thrilling to the point of setting every one of his nerve endings on fire. His fingers twitched around his mug, his heart pounded like a hundred drums in his chest. His gaze was locked in place, drinking in the sight of a  _ real live  _ pirate captain and all the excitement and energy that surrounded that. 

Next to Sagefire, the large man with the tattoos was grinning. Noct couldn’t hear what he said to the kid from behind the bar, but the next minute several things happened in mind-boggling succession. First, the blonde flushed bright red from his collarbones to the roots of his hair, not bothering to hide the way his smile stretched even wider beneath a scattering of freckles. Next, he actually  _ squealed _ as the tattooed man pulled him down bodily into his lap and kissed him hard. There was a flailing of limbs and a roar of laughter from the other pirates as the kid tried to wrap himself around the other man completely, tugging him in tight and making even Noctis blush at the shameless way he was already bucking his hips. This, in turn, had Sagefire rolling his eyes at the entire show.

And had him glancing away from the scene in time to catch Noctis’ gaze bearing down on him. He blinked, cocked an eyebrow, and Noctis knew in that moment that he was completely and irreversibly  _ fucked _ . 

_ Shit, shit, shit! _ he thought, heart racing now for very different reasons. He’d been caught. The pirate captain was going to be furious, and if he was lucky would only make his death half as painful as the legends described. Sagefire was still looking at him, still watching him, when Noct got to his trembling feet and began to slink along the counter seeking a hopeless escape. 

“Where ya goin’, kid? Fun’s just gettin’ started.” Over his shoulder, Cindy flashed him a wink and gestured to the two lovebirds across the bar. They had now moved their show to the top of the table, where the blonde was writhing beneath the muscular pirate, who ground mercilessly against him even through their clothes. “Never seen Prompto this worked up before,” she chuckled, but Noct was hardly in the mood to care. 

“W-w-w-where is the back exit?” he asked her in an oddly-strained, too-high pitch. His eyes shot across the room again, but to his utter horror (relief?) Sagefire was nowhere in sight.

“Oh, there’s a door past the rooms, straight down that hallway, but -- "

"T-thanks!" And with that he was rushing past the bar, under the stairs to the right and down the corridor of the inn proper. Ahead of him the exit loomed into sight. If only he could just -- 

A gloved hand shot out from one of the rooms on his left and coiled around his upper arm tight as a snake. Before he could even shout, Noct was being dragged inside and right up against a strong, solid body. The door shut, and he gasped as a pair of steel-green eyes pressed him into the wall.

“Who are you?” Sagefire asked, tone cold and demanding and he closed in. His lilting voice, and at that proximity, had Noct’s stomach turning flip-flops. 

“U-uh, no one?”

“ _ Hmph _ . Your face is familiar. I’ve seen you before.”

“No, p-pretty sure you haven’t.” 

The pirate frowned. Without warning, his gloved hand shot out again to catch Noct’s chin between his fingers, turning his face this way and that under strict scrutiny. “Name.”

“...Huh?”

“Your  _ name. _ You have one, don’t you?”

Noctis swallowed hard. More than the very real possibility of death staring him right in the face, he found himself inexplicably drawn to the sight of the other man’s lips. They were full, somewhat pouty beneath his demanding gaze, and totally distracting him from the much more  _ pressing _ issue at hand. “Um. N-Noctis. I’m Noctis. Or Noct, I g-guess. Y’know, if you wanted…to call me that.” He ended with a fleeting smile, one which was wiped right off his face a moment later when Sagefire abruptly yanked his chin up. 

“You still haven’t told me why you’ve been watching me all evening.  _ Noct _ .” 

Could he feel it? Surely he could, the way Noctis’ skin was all but vibrating with energy. Excitement, mingled with a hint of fear, was pulsing through his veins swifter than a riptide, threatening to sweep his feet right out from under him any second. His eyes, so wide and round and bright, kept shifting their gaze from Sagefire’s piercing look to his mouth, down to the delicate ridge of bones exposed just inside the open collar of his shirt. Even Noctis didn’t fully understand it, but from the way the pirate’s fingers were suddenly moving up the length of his jaw, maybe he had noticed after all. 

“I, um,” Noct started, gulping visibly. “I wanted to meet--  _ to see _ you. In the flesh, you know. I’ve heard the stories, everyone has. Thought…maybe I could find out if you were really like what they say about you. If you were like the captain from the legends.” By the time he was finished, his voice was hardly more than a breathy whisper. Sagefire’s eyes had never left his, had not even blinked, and the only indication that he was even listening was the cool smile slowly spreading across his lips. It was terrifying, in a way. And  _ damn distracting.  _

“So? What do you think,  _ Noct? _ ” he said again. The sound of his name on that lilting tongue was doing really awful things to Noctis’ self control. “Do you find me as fearsome and miserable as you’ve heard?”

He shook his head. Well, as much as he  _ could _ shake it, given the firm hand still traveling slowly over his jaw. “No. Not at all.”

“You’re trembling.”

So he was. “Um. Can...can I touch you?” 

Maybe that wasn’t exactly what he’d meant to say. But the temptation was there, and apparently Sagefire was going to grant him that much as a last request. If he was going to die at the hands of a pirate, he was at least going to satisfy  _ all  _ of his curiosities before his time was up. And those lips had been calling to him like a siren amidst the waves. Slowly, tentatively, he reached up with one hand to brush his fingers along the curve of the bottom one, flushing at the surprising softness beneath his touch. Sagefire held perfectly still for him while his fingers explored that beautiful face. All but his eyes, which mirrored each of Noct’s movements as the drank in the sight of him, as well. 

At last, the tension that had been slowly building since Noctis had first stepped foot in the tavern that night bubbled over. His breath left him in a strained sigh. “Can we…?”

“ _ Hm _ .” The hand that had been until that moment cupping his cheek traveled suddenly to the back of his neck. Gloved fingers buried in black locks, tangled and tugged him forward with breathtaking intimacy. “Call me Ignis,” was all he said before their lips crashed together somewhere in the middle. 

Never once did it occur to Noctis that was he was doing might be considered  _ scandalous _ by certain circles of people in his life. Yes, he was fully aware of  _ who  _ and  _ what _ Sagefire -- Ignis -- was, which was all kind of the point, really. But,  _ well _ . If his father, for example, had even the slightest clue that his darling son was, in that moment, pressed up against a wall with a pirate captain devouring his neck, moaning at the rough hand diving into his pants, he likely would have keeled over on the spot. 

Or if  _ anyone _ , for that matter, had seen Noctis drop eagerly to his knees to bury his face in the heat and scent of said pirate captain’s arousal,  _ smirking  _ before guiding his dick into his mouth like he had any clue was he was doing, well  _ that _ would have been the end of him. He would have been disowned, no long a Lucis Caelum but merely  _ Noct, Noct, Noct _ \-- which was precisely the name Ignis was chanting over and over as he spilled himself down that welcoming throat. 

But no one ever did find them. They stayed together in that room for the better part of the evening, eventually dragging their spent bodies to the bed to recuperate until they were ready to go another round. Noctis discovered many things that night, about himself and about pirates. First of all, he learned that pirates weren’t always sour or selfish like his father had always said. In fact, when Ignis smiled he grew even  _ more  _ beautiful, so much so that it took Noct’s breath away.  _ Or _ , perhaps that was a combination of the pirate captain’s good looks and the feeling of his tongue lapping at the base of Noct’s cock. Gorgeous  _ and  _ selfless, who would have thought? 

Then he moved lower and Noct lost the ability to think about anything anyway. 

He moaned and gasped and clutched at the bedsheets, turning his cheek into the pillow as Ignis’ tongue swirled around his hole.  _ This _ was a new discovery, as well, though Noct was far more concerned with experiencing it first-hand than he was trying to analyze every detail. The rush, the thrill of it had his cock aching to be touched again, his breath catching on every intake. Already his knees were pushed nearly to his chest, but he let them fall open in order to take in the view of his real-live pirate  _ lover  _ licking him loose with fiery determination. Never before had Noctis wanted something so badly as he did in that moment. 

Whining his need, he begged Ignis with his eyes even as his hands flew to his face to draw him up. He obeyed ( _ obeyed! A pirate captain! _ ) and stretched out along the length of Noctis’ body until his mouth was pressed against the side of his neck again and his erection was grinding against his ass. Noct shuddered, arched up, and was rewarded with the sweet pressure of teeth closing down over his skin. 

When Ignis pushed into him, Noct’s world exploded with light and color. His senses went into overdrive, his already sensitive body surging with flames as he was taken slowly, gently, totally unlike how he’d imagined it’d feel to be fucked by a pirate. Not that he’d ever imagined such a thing, of course. At least not consciously, anyway. But there he was, crying out his own pleasure as he clung to Ignis’ shoulders and rode out his powerful thrusts, loving every second of it.

That, too, was a new discovery -- one that he certainly hoped wouldn’t be the last.

~~~~~~~~~~~

“ _ Caelum?! _ ” Noctis winced, retreating a little from the sight of the angry, bewildered pirate next to him in bed. “As in,  _ Governor Lucis Caelum _ of Her Majesty’s service?”

“That...would be my dad, yes.”

“Unbelievable!” Ignis threw his hands in the air, the sting of his words lessened somewhat by the comical trail of kiss marks that shone bright red on the pale skin of his neck and chest. “And I suppose that means you’re here to arrest us after all?”

“No!” 

“Then what? Don’t tell me you’re just a depraved son who enjoys going behind his father’s back to fuck pirates in his free time?”

“ _ What? _ No! Yes! I mean. Well, I did enjoy that, but….” Noct shook his head. This was not how this was supposed to go. Not how  _ any _ of it was supposed to go. “My father doesn’t know I’m here. No one does. I came alone, and what I told you before was the truth. I didn’t...intend for  _ all this _ to happen, though I’m glad it did.” 

He fell silent, and Ignis with him. While the pirate captain seemed unconvinced, he still hadn’t moved from the bed and that was a good sign, right? Noctis tugged the sheets up over his naked lap and chewed his lip for a long moment. “...How long can you stay?” 

Ignis was a pirate. A man of the sea. Noct was under no illusions of that, and even had they  _ not  _ ended up in bed together he would have been sad to see him leave again. And he envied him, for his freedom and for his ability to walk away. 

“A...few more nights, at most. The crew will be restless.”

“Do you think…. I can see you again?”

Surprise, and perhaps interest, flashed in the darks of Ignis’ eyes as he considered the risks. At last, he reached out to lay a hesitant hand atop Noct’s knee. “...Tomorrow night, after dusk. Follow the moonlight to a small beach between grey cliffs. If I think I can trust you, I’ll be there.”  

Noct couldn’t hide his smile. 

The next night, when he snuck from his window and wound his way through the darkness down to the beach beneath the full moon, he found Ignis had kept his promise. They fell together until the sun rose over the deep blue horizon, until Noctis drifted into sleep in the pirate’s arms murmuring his name. That was the first time the dreaded Sagefire realized he would be leaving his heart behind on dry land when the tides at last called him back to sea.  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know what kind of pirate shenanigans you'd like to see next!!! And more Promptio, of course *dreamy sigh*


	4. Hard Labor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noctis and Prompto are put to work in order to earn their keep on board the Regalia. Prompto in particular gets some very hands-on training at the new job, while Noct begins to wonder if he's really cut out for the life of a pirate after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm submitting this as a free prompt for Day 5 of Ignoct Week, but actually this chapter is dedicated to my fellow Promptio fans *wink wink*
> 
> Also, special love and shout outs to Achrya and CarmenSandyeggo who were the main instigators for this chapter :D

  
The day had grown hot, almost unbearably so. On the deck of the _Regalia_ , there was very little to provide shade from the afternoon sun, and it beat down on the tarred wood with scalding force. There was no escape, no reprieve from the heat. And as he stood there sweating under the harsh sun and the harsher gazes of two dozen pirates, Noct wondered bitterly if it wasn't too late to go home after all. 

Beside him, Prompto was looking even more miserable. The blonde, who he had recognized as Cindy's assistant from the tavern, kept rocking unsteadily on his feet, alternating between rubbing sweat from his eyes and clutching at his stomach.  _ Sea sick _ , Noct realized with a rueful smile, and silently hoped for his sake that they would hurry up and get this show over with. 

As if on cue, he heard a sound like the clearing of a throat behind him, and then suddenly a familiar, lilting voice was addressing the crowd on deck. "Gentlemen," Ignis said, "And lady." (From somewhere in the crowd he heard a women growl out an appreciative  _ Arrr! _ ) "It has come to my attention that upon leaving port, not merely one but two stowaways have been found on our ship. They stand here before you now, ready to accept their fate."

The pirate crew erupted in a clamor of laughs, jeers, and less-than-pleasant suggestions for how to handle the two young troublemakers. Cries of  _ Throw 'em in the brig _ and  _ Make 'em walk the plank _ , followed by a stomach churning  _ Let us have a turn with 'em first!  _ filled the air, until Noctis could feel Ignis' tension at his back. Gladio, too, was visibly having to hold back his rage, fists clenched as tight as his jaw at the front of the crowd. 

Ignis, mercifully, held up a hand to silence his crew at last. "There will be no talk of harming these two in any way. In that regard they are under my protection, if only because their presence on this ship serves a purpose. Cid is old --" ( _ Aye, ain't that the damn truth. _ ) "-- and we have need of a new navigator with young, sharp eyes. Prompto, here, has some of the sharpest, and so he will be taken under Gladio's wing at the helm. He'll work to earn his place here."

Some grumbles of agreement, some of dissent, could be heard among the din. Gladio, for his part, flashed a vaguely concealed smile up at Prompto, who was practically beaming in return despite the green color in his cheeks. 

Next, it was Noct's turn. They had practiced this (sort of) and he knew that Ignis wouldn't be going easy on him.  _ For his own good, _ Iggy had said, because the crew wouldn't take kindly to any kind of special treatment. Noctis knew this, understood it. And yet, when Ignis made the announcement, his jaw clattered to the floor in shock. 

"This one will be assigned to clean the brig. It's a bloody mess down there and I know none of  _ you lot  _ are inclined to the task." A unanimous nod of agreement from the other pirates, while Noct could only stare around him in disbelief. And was that a hint of amusement he caught in Iggy's tone when he continued!? "Are there any objections to anything I've just said? No? Then it's settled. All of you,  _ get back to work, you bunch of lazy seadevils! _ "

The pirates jumped to attention and scattered away as soon as the order flew from their captain's mouth. All but Gladio and their two new recruits, one of whom was seething with a silent anger. 

"You heard him, kiddo," Gladio grinned as he snaked an arm around Prompto's waist. The blonde wobbled a little but looked grateful to have a solid chest to lean against. "You're all mine for the day. Know anything about steering a ship?"

"Not -  _ urp  _ \- a clue."

The pirate chuckled, a deep rumbling sound, and he slapped his hand against Prompto's rear hard enough to send him arching straight up. "Looks like you need to find your sea legs first. A few paces around the deck oughta do the trick. C'mon, put those silky thighs to work."

The pair headed off, Prompto wobbling in front as Gladio egged him on with the occasional grope or pinch to the ass, until only Noctis remained behind with the captain. 

The captain he was about to have  _ very strong  _ words with. 

"The brig?" he said flatly, turning and crossing his arms and putting on what he hoped was an intimidating scowl. "The hell, Iggy?"

"It's where we keep prisoners when we have them."

"I know  _ what  _ a brig is. What I don't get is why you're punishing me with it! Prompto gets to steer the ship, and I get to scrub scum off the floor? How is that fair?!" Throwing up his arms, Noct began to wonder how, between the unbearable heat and his stupid, heartless pirate boyfriend, he ever thought any of this was a good idea. 

But Ignis was watching him with a smirk on his lips. Ready, as always, with a perfectly persuasive argument. "Prompto doesn't get the privilege of sleeping in the captain's quarters, now does he?" He strode forward, not quite close enough to touch Noctis, but those heated eyes were on him all the same. "Of course, if you'd prefer to spend your nights in the berth with the rest of the crew...?"

"No, no. No, I...I take it back." Noct sighed. "Still, couldn't you have gone a little easier on me?" 

The brief caress of gloved fingers on his arm was all the contact he received. "Not a chance, Noctis. You told me you wanted to learn about ships, about life as a real pirate. What better place to start than at the bottom?"

"Oh..."

"And do keep in mind that I am your captain now." Steel green eyes flashed wicked amusement as Ignis circled around, not unlike a shark to its prey. "It would do you well to maintain a level of humility in front of the others. Wouldn't want them finding out who you  _ really  _ are, would we?" 

Noctis swallowed. This Ignis, this  _ Sagefire _ , was a far cry from the needy, pliant man who'd given in so easily to his mouth just the night before.  _ This  _ Ignis was commanding, confident, dark, truly the ruthless captain from the legends Noctis had grown up with. He would be lying if he said it didn't have his throat parched for entirely inappropriate reasons. 

"Y-yes, sir," he managed, earning an approving nod over his shoulder. 

"Good. Have Aranea show you to the brig. You can clean until sunset, then return to my quarters for a bath. Understood?"

"Um, yeah. Got it. Thanks...Captain." It was odd, of course, but despite the unpleasant task that lay before him, Noctis felt a surge of excitement. Sure, scrubbing grime and gods knew what else from the inside of prison cells wasn't  _ exactly  _ how he'd imagined his first tour at sea would go. But he was at sea, on a pirate ship, living the dream he'd wanted for so long. And what was a little hard work in exchange? After all, every adventure had to start somewhere, right? 

Smiling for the first time since that morning, Noctis hopped off the camber and headed in the direction of the silver-haired pirate in question. 

Ignis watched him go, fondness softening the edges of his features. Perhaps he had been a little cruel, but Noctis would benefit from the lessons in time, learn to see the reasons for every bit of hard labor and grueling task. And, in the meantime, Ignis would just have to find  _ other ways _ to reward him for his work.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Alright, so you put your hands at ten and two, and --"

"Ten and two? What, are there number written on the handles?" 

A sigh. "No, kid, like the hours. Here, imagine you're looking at a clock, yeah?" 

Gladio shifted closer, pressing himself right against Prompto's back as his arms reached out around him. He felt the other's thin frame stiffen, heard the little intake of breath at the intimate contact, and knew he'd managed to capture all of Prompto's attention. Good. Maybe now he would actually learn something. 

Smirking, Gladio pointed to the spoke jutting straight out of the top of the helm. "This is twelve, noon, okay?" The blonde nodded carefully. "And the one down there --" his hand moved south, index finger following the central post of the wheel even as his palm hovered mere inches above Prompto's groin. "-- is six. Got it?" 

"Yeah. Got it." His voice was soft, even a little breathless. Gladio's grin widened. 

"So where are ten and two?" Prompto raised his arms and gripped his hands around the correct spokes, earning a hum of approval in response. "Good, now we're getting somewhere. Look out at the horizon."

He felt rather than saw the muscles in Prompto's shoulders working, his head lifting and back straightening to get a proper view. If he leaned a little further back into Gladio's pecs than was absolutely necessary, well, he didn't hear the pirate complain. "What am I looking for?"

"Right now, nothing." Gladio sunk a little lower behind the blonde, marvelling in how his lithe body always seemed to mold so perfectly against his when they were like this. He smelled good, still so fresh, as if he carried the scents of the land with him. Earthy, rich, a lingering aroma of dew clinging to his hair. Gladio didn't hide the way he breathed it in, nose buried in the back of blonde locks as his senses slowly unraveled. "Imagine there's an island out there. Straight ahead, right on the horizon."

"Yeah? What, um. What does it look like?" As Prompto spoke, his voice grew huskier, his breath heavier. He was having a hard time concentrating with Gladio's rough beard tickling the rim of his ear and his occasional hums rumbling through both of their chests. After all, Gladio was the reason he was here, the reason he had snuck onto that longboat behind the governor's kid and risked everything to reach this ship. Gladio, whether he knew it or not (and Prompto was pretty sure he did), was irresistible. 

Another chuckle, deep and slow, reverberated in his ribcage. "It's, uh. Big."

"Y-yeah?"

"And hard. Lots of rocks."

" _ Yeah? _ " 

"Definitely somewhere we don't want to crash the ship."

"O-oh. Right." Prompto sucked in a breath. He was back at the helm, the edges of his vision only slightly blurred as he stared ahead at the open expanse of sea. There were others moving about, some on deck and some climbing the sails, but their presence hardly made a difference. There were only so many things Prompto could focus on at once, after all. "So, uh, I should probably go around that island, right?"

It was all he could do to choke back a moan as the man behind him ground his erection hard against his ass. " _ Mm _ . Tight circle. Don't wanna lose course." Gladio, it seemed, was great at multitasking. 

Prompto tried, he really did. Balancing the heavy helm between his hands as Gladio's dick slid mercilessly against his backside, hot and hard and totally distracting even through both of their pants. Which, suddenly, Prompto regretted having put on at all that morning. He gulped and shuddered, strained to keep his attention on the direction of the ship and not on the way his own cock was pulsing in time with Gladio's rocking hips. 

"You're doin' great, Prom," that deep voice soothed in his ear, and Prompto nearly lost it right then. "We're almost around the island. Bring her back on course. Easy, easy.  _ Real good, baby, just like that. _ "

"F-fuck," he whined. "Gladio, if you don't stop teasing me right this insta--!"

One rough hand was all it took to yank his pants down over the mounds of his ass, the rush of air and touch of Gladio's already-exposed cock against his skin shutting Prompto up fast. His hip was gripped in place as those same fingers slid down between his cheeks to massage away the tightness there.

"Keep 'er steady."

"Y-yep!" The single word was half yelp, half moan. Prompto squeezed the handles of the wheel until his knuckles went white, forced his arms to stay locked in position even as all the blood in his body drained south. Gladio worked quickly, efficiently, spitting once into his palm before twisting in a second -- and then a third -- finger. But as quickly as they had started they finished, pulling out of him with a lingering trail of saliva and a desperate emptiness that left Prompto weak at the knees. 

"Gladdy...." A rough kiss to the back of his neck. Teeth grazed over his skin and up to his ear, biting gently to hold back his own groans as Gladio pushed into him. Further, deeper, until Prompto was gasping for breath at the stretch, the  _ fill _ . So big, so hot, it shocked him every time how he could be so full and yet so hungry for more. 

" _ Steady _ ," Gladio hissed in his ear, and Prompto nearly screamed. Quickly he brought his arms back into place, noticing the way the ship gave a telling lurch at the shift. On the deck, several pirates stumbled or caught at ropes for balance, and some of them shot dark looks directly at the rookie navigator. 

_ They know. Oh gods, they know, _ he thought, lips falling open as Gladio's cock slid out and thrust back into him with bruising force.  _ They can see everything _ . His next gasp came out as a warbling moan, too loud and too high-pitched to be anything else. Several more pairs of eyes turned on them, and Prompto was brought right there, right to the edge, with the thrill of it. 

Gladio, evidently, had noticed the attention, too. "Whadd'ya say we put on a  _ real  _ show?" His growl was hungry, his fingers demanding as they tugged Prompto's pants down and dropped them to the floor at his ankles. Those same fingers gripped a half-second later around Prompto's thigh and raised his leg into the air, leaving his knee bent and the rest of him exposed. The helm offered little protection, especially once Prompto was pushed up against it to be fucked  _ proper _ . 

The cheers from below fell on deaf ears. Prompto could barely hear over the blood rushing in his ears and the feral grunts from the man behind him with every powerful thrust. His palms, sweaty now, slipped and scrabbled at the helm, somehow managing to keep it in place even as he used it to hold the rest of him up. Gladio's cock was relentless as it pounded into him, stretching, tugging, threatening to split him in two -- and all the while Prompto's cock bobbed and leaked against his stomach, slapping against his own thigh as his orgasm gained on him. 

"Fuck! Fuck! Gla! Di! Ooo _ oooo! _ " he cried, voice breaking in time with his climax. His cock pulsed, shooting his pleasure in white hot bursts across the face of the helm. Behind him, Gladio groaned at the sudden tightness and squeezed his fists hard enough to leave bruises in their wake. 

" _ Oh, yeah,  _ Prom --  _ Mm _ , hold on baby."

And hold on he did. Prompto gripped the wheel for dear life, clenching his jaw against the scream he could feel building up in his chest. Gladio rammed into him, all the force of his powerful body behind each desperate thrust as he chased his own orgasm. When he came, it was with a roar. He tugged Prompto's body back onto him, plunged as deep inside that slick tightness as he could go, until the cords on his neck stood out from the strain of it. Heat filled Prompto from the inside, more and more of it, spilling out and running down his balls, his thigh, leaving them both shivering and gasping and entirely spent. 

Gladio slumped forward. Slowly, numbly, Prompto lowered his leg and shifted into a more comfortable position against the helm. He was dimly aware of jeers and applause from down on the deck, but he couldn't have cared less. Gladio's head was resting against his shoulder, his breathing deep and labored, and Prompto hummed as he reached back to stroke a lock of black hair from his forehead. The pirate's response was a very contented grin, his arms wrapping around the other's waist and holding him close. 

"...Steady," he said at last, voice like gravel, and Prompto flushed as he once more focused on righting the wheel. 

~~~~~~~~~

Okay, so maybe Noctis had overestimated his sense of adventure  _ just  _ a little bit. 

Cleaning the brig had been the actual worst thing he'd ever been forced to do in his life. Everything down there in those cells had reeked, every surface had been sticky with a green-ish black film that had left his stomach churning and his fingernails stained for...well, probably life, the way his luck was going. 

Ignis  _ tutted  _ as he came back across the room. He was carrying a mostly-white towel and a bar of soap, both of which he laid on the edge of the tub as he kneeled down beside it. 

Noctis pulled his knees up to his chest and buried his face in them. "I hate this," he announced, voice devoid of humor though Iggy somehow managed to laugh anyway. 

"Come, now. Surely there are worse things in life? Being eaten alive by sharks, for example."

_ Yeah, maybe.  _ "How much longer do I have to do this?"

Dipping the soap and the towel into the luke-warm water at Noct's side, Ignis considered. "How much did you manage to clean today?"

"Ugh. Depends on what you consider 'clean.' If you mean smearing that gross slime around until it had a nice, even coat, then I'd say about one-fourth of the room."

Another chuckle.  _ Seriously, what the hell did Iggy find so amusing about his suffering?!  _ "You certainly seem to have made an effort. Just a few more weeks should suffice."

"Weeks...?! Iggy, come on, this is inhumane!" Noctis unwrapped his arms from around his legs long enough to snatch up the soap and dig his blackened nails into it. "If I'd known you were going to torture me, I would have just stayed in Insomnia."

Beside him, he could feel hard, green eyes burning into his skin. He sensed the tension, the sharp words building, but he didn't care. Ignis was being unreasonable and he didn't have to stand for it.

"Then perhaps you'd like to spend the night in the berth with everyone else tonight?"

"Well,  _ perhaps  _ I would!"

Silence. The only sound in the room was the  _ drip, drip _ of water from the towel as Ignis held it up and began to scrub away the sweat and dirt from Noct's back. The contact, the care with which the pirate cleaned him, brought a pink flush to the younger man's cheeks. But still he remained quiet in simmering anger, glaring out at nothing in particular in any direction that wasn't at Iggy. 

When he was done with Noct's back, Ignis sat onto his calves and sighed. "Would you like me to do the rest, or can you manage?" 

Noctis  _ hmph _ ed. He  _ could  _ clean himself, of course. Because he certainly wasn't incapable. But he was tired, exhausted even, and something about putting Ignis to work was gratifying in itself. Without a word, he leaned back against the edge of the tub and spread his legs in silent command. 

Not that he missed the flash of amusement on the captain's face, nor the eagerness with which he set back to work. The towel dipped under the surface of the water, swirled gently over his chest. Ignis kept the act purely platonic. Even when the cloth brushed over the sensitive skin of Noctis' nipples, he hardly slowed down to indulge at all. 

Chest finished, Ignis moved on to Noct's stomach, and then to his hips. Despite himself, Noct's body couldn't help but react to the all-too-familiar hands gliding over all-too-familiar places, and by the time the towel reached the hairs at the base of his cock, his cheeks were burning with indignation. 

Still, Ignis said nothing about his very obvious arousal. Which made Noctis even more furious, of course. Why did Iggy have to insist on being so cruel?

It was the whine that gave him away. The one that started low in his throat and came bubbling up no matter how hard he tried to swallow it back. All his frustration, all his exhaustion condensed into one tiny sound, barely audible, and yet to Ignis it meant everything. At once the pirate captain dropped the towel into the water and cupped his hands instead around Noctis' face. 

"I love you," he said, before climbing into the narrow tub, clothing and all, to pull the younger man into a kiss. 

And then Noctis was crying, sobbing, clinging to Iggy's shoulders as the weight of reality crashed in on him. It wasn't just the brig or his dirty nails, or even the way he'd secretly wanted Ignis' fingers around him when he'd pretended he didn't. It was also the gravity of being  _ here _ , on this pirate ship out at sea, so far from the only home he’d ever known, and all because he had been stupid and impulsive and arrogant. Maybe Ignis had been right from the beginning. Maybe he didn’t belong here.

Familiar lips kissed away his tears even as they fell hot and heavy down his cheeks. Strong arms held him, soothed him even long after his eyes had dried and he’d stopped shaking. They were both soaking wet, the water in the bath had lost its warmth. Even still, Noctis didn't want to let go. Ignis was surrounding him with love, with compassion, though he knew he deserved neither. 

"I'm sorry, Iggy…."

"It's okay, Noct. Perhaps I was a little hasty in punishing you today. Forget the brig. I'll find other work for you."

"No, it's not that. I…." Swallowing, Noctis buried his face in the side of the pirate’s neck, let the familiar scent of him fill his senses with much-needed calm. Iggy had always been so smart, had always been able to read emotions as easily as some people read the pages of a book. At times it was frustrating how he always seemed to have an answer for everything, but…. 

Right now, that was exactly what Noctis needed. 

"What do I do, Igs? I've made a mess of everything. My home, my dad…. How do I fix this?"

_ Ah.  _

Ignis thought for awhile in silence. He let his fingers card through Noct’s hair, indulging in the soft caress of each breath against his neck. He loved Noctis, truly and completely. There was nothing he wouldn't give to see him happy. Not his ship, not his treasure, not even his own life were more precious to him. So, with a smile that belied the ache in his heart, he answered, "Then perhaps it's time to tell your father where you've really gone."


	5. Stars, Sea, and Inspiration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With his fateful letter on its way to Insomnia, Noctis can only wait aboard the ship for news of his father's reply. In the meantime, he's got his Iggy and a sea full of stars - and a surprising source of amorous inspiration.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's mini-chapter fills _both_ IgNoct Week Day 6 prompts! :D "Stars and Sea* and *Ignoct getting off to Promptio"   
>  You guys know me. I can't resist any excuse for more Promptio lol.   
> More plot and content to come!

They watched from the railing as Aranea’s boat was slowly swallowed up by darkness above the shadowy sea. She was heading back to Insomnia alone, bearing a letter for Governor Regis Caelum. A letter Noctis himself had written that evening, and one which would determine his fate. In it he’d revealed everything, from his secret trysts with Sagefire, to his decision to board the  _ Regalia _ and venture far from home. Should his father accept his choice, then a burden would be lifted and Noct would truly gain the freedom he so desperately sought. But should his father oppose….

Then all of them would be in danger.

“It will take her several days to reach port, I imagine. In the meantime, if there’s anything you need…?” A gloved hand squeezed his shoulder, and Noct glanced up to see Ignis watching him close. “Will you be alright?”

“...Yeah. Yeah, Iggy, I’ll be fine. Thanks.” Offering what he could of a smile, Noctis reached up to lay his own hand over the one on his shoulder. “And, uh. I’m really sorry. For ruining everything.”

“You haven’t,” came a surprisingly cheerful tone from the usually somber pirate. “Take a look around. You’re here, with me, all alone on this deck beneath the stars. What more could a man ask for on a night like this?” 

And it was true, now that he took the time to properly observe. Above them, the night sky was literally filled with stars, thousands  -- no,  _ millions _ of them, sparkling and glittering in a kind of chaotic synchronicity. More stars, in fact, than Noctis had ever remembered seeing back home, where even the dim lights of the taverns and docks had apparently obscured so much. 

The longer he stared, the more of those distant points twinkled into view, the more the darkened sky melded into the calm surface of the water, until he felt they were somehow floating upside down, the sea above and the inky night below.

It was a vision that left him more than a little lightheaded. Noctis turned around, putting the stars to his back and Ignis in his sights. Unsurprisingly, the pirate’s gaze was already fixed on him, bold green eyes seeming to drink in his very breath. “So…,” Noct began as he leaned back against the rail in what he hoped was a clear invitation. “You don’t hate me?” 

“Quite the opposite, Noctis.” Ignis read his posture, took the opening he’d been offered without hesitation. His hands started on Noct’s chest, fingers ghosting down over the thin fabric of his shirt and coming to rest on either side of his hips. When he tugged, Noct followed easily “I’m actually thinking that we aren’t taking enough advantage of our current situation.” 

“You read my mind, Captain.” This time, his smile was as bright as the stars above as he pulled Ignis down into a kiss. It was a full-body kind of kiss, one which had them both surging forward into the other, hands and arms and chests all seeking contact. Their lips met, slid frantically together as if trying to fit all the unspoken words in at once, neither of them knowing how much longer this would last but not wanting to waste a moment of the time they had.

Ignis, in particular, was finding it difficult to hold back. With Noctis so soft and eager and pressed tight against his body, his control was unravelling faster than a wet rope. Wanting, needing to feel that tender flesh beneath him, he shucked off his gloves and shoved his hands without preamble under the hem of Noctis’ shirt. The younger man shuddered under his rough, calloused fingers, gasped sweetly into his mouth as those hands trailed hungry lines up the length of his stomach, his waist. Noct’s shirt was pushed up to his armpits when Ignis pressed forward, tongue diving into his mouth to taste him, explore him, swallow up his delicate moans and needy sighs. 

Noct’s body reacted instantaneously. The raw power with which Ignis touched him, kissed him, had him held fast against the rails. Between their hips his need grew, hardened under the pirate’s ministrations, until he was rolling up desperately in search of friction. 

“Mm- _ mmmm!” _

“ _ Noctis… my Noctis, _ ” came the growled response. Ignis broke away from those perfect lips, begging his lover to release his voice into the night air as he latched onto his throat instead.

“ _ Oh please, please!” _

Ignis acquiesced, one hand snaking back down Noct’s frame to palm him roughly through his pants. 

“ _ Yes, yes! Oh, gods, Gladio, yes!” _

“....”

“....”

“Did you just…?”

“N-not me.”

“ _ Ooooh, right there, yesyesYES!”  _

Both lovers followed the sound of the unexpected passion to the very peak of the mast directly behind them. There, just visible over the edge of the crow’s nest, was a tuft of blonde hair and two long, pale arms flailing in the dark. “ _ Don’t stop, ahhhh, you’re so good with that filthy mouth of yours!” _

Had Noct not already been flushed with the heat of Ignis’ mouth on him, he would have turned a burning red right then. Ignis, too, had to clear his throat before forcing his gaze away from the scene. “Seems the stars aren’t the only show on display tonight,” he said, caught halfway between exasperation and an embarrassed smile. 

“Should...we find somewhere else to, um…?” 

His erection still weighed in Iggy’s palm, hard and desperate despite (or perhaps in tandem with) the amorous pair above. 

“...That may not be necessary,” the pirate captain mused. “I have it on good authority that those two rather enjoy an audience.”

“Y-you serious?” But Noct’s heart was already racing doubletime at the thought of overhearing  _ that _ while chasing his own pleasure. Especially considering Prompto’s moans had just dropped a couple of octaves and it was  _ very _ obvious where Gladio’s mouth had gone. Swallowing in sympathy, he turned his hungry eyes back on Ignis and mirrored his need. “Yeah. I’m in.”

It was truly a night of athletic proportions. Noctis and Iggy shed their clothing in record time, pausing only to retreat behind a nearby bulkhead for a semblance of privacy. With Prompto and Gladio’s lovemaking spurring them on, they rose again and again to the challenge of the competition -- quite literally. When the blonde’s cries turned to muffled, eager moans, Ignis knelt and took Noctis into his mouth as well. When Gladio’s powerful grunts rocked the very timbers of the mast, Noct lifted his foot onto the railing for leverage as he thrust himself back onto Iggy’s cock. And every time the other two cried out in climax, only to start again a few minutes later, Noct and Ignis would roll their eyes and pull themselves off the deck, rocking their bodies together until they, too, were ready for another round. 

The four lovers continued until well into the night, when at last exhaustion rendered them too weak to do more than cling together and gasp for air. By the time Noctis let his head come to rest on Ignis’ shoulder, the sky was already beginning to lighten with the coming dawn. He smiled, laughed, and proceeded to pass right the hell out. 

And, if on that very next morning, every pirate on the ship grumbled a little louder during their chores, well…. They knew  _ exactly  _ who to thank for keeping them up all night. 

 


	6. Words of Wisdom, Words of Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ignis and Gladio exchange some much-needed advice about their respective troublesome stowaways, while Noctis finally learns where Prompto gets his affinity for dark-haired pirates. After some much needed soul-searching (in bed, with Noct, of course), Ignis may have found his answer.... But it couldn't come under worse circumstances. 
> 
> Or in other words: lots of dialogue, lots of smut, and a big ol' plot twist if you're paying attention ;3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BIg big BIIGGG shout-out to Carmen_SandyEggo for helping flesh out the plot for this story. Half these ideas belong to her and she deserves credit for everything she's done :D   
> Also, massive props to Archya/Daiako for constant support, even at five in the morning when I need smut approval lol.   
> And finally, thanks to each and every one of you who has left comments and feedback on this project so far!!! Your words are like fuel for me, they keep this story moving and expanding and I am SO grateful to know you're out there and enjoying this! *many many hugs*

 

By the time Noctis rolled over and unburied himself from the comfort of Ignis’ blankets, the sun was already warming the room with a vibrant light. He peeled his eyes open, stretched his arm out across the mattress expecting to find Iggy’s form laid out beside him, but his fingers landed on cool sheets. He was alone in the bed.

A slow confusion spread through him. Rubbing his eyes, Noct pushed himself up onto one elbow and chanced a look around. The desk, the sofa, the entire room was just as it had been the night before. Beneath him, the subtle rocking of the ship was steady, constant. The only thing missing was Ignis.

Noct slumped back into the bed. Mornings had never been his strong suit anyway, and if Iggy was busy with work then he had an excuse to sleep in a little longer. If nothing else, he could at least close his eyes for…. 

The door to the captain’s quarters opened and Ignis strolled inside. In one hand he carried a porcelain mug, while under his other arm was tucked a variety of parchments all rolled up and fraying at the edges. When he caught sight of Noctis, still half tucked beneath the sheets and peering at him from the satin pillows, he smiled, tipped his head, and deposited the rolls of paper in a messy pile onto his desk. 

“Morning,” he greeted cheerfully. 

“It’s too early.”

“I should think not. It’s past ten already, you’ve missed breakfast by far.” As if to emphasize his point, he held his mug up to his lips and took a loud slurp. Coffee, Noct realized, crinkling his nose at the smell. 

“Another hearty meal of tack and bean water? No thanks, I’d rather sleep in.” But despite his words, Noct was soon pushing himself back up onto his elbows to get a good look at his lover across the room. Ignis seemed...different that morning. Lighter, less tightly wound than usual. Fleetingly, Noct wondered if it had anything to do with their extracurricular activities each night, or if something else was working to lift the pirate’s spirits. 

“Suit yourself,” Ignis said with a smile, setting down his mug before picking up one of the parchments on the desk. “Though I would like to see you out of bed and dressed at some point today.”

Noctis smirked. None-too-subtly, he shifted beneath the covers, rolling onto his side and kicking away the sheets until they were just barely covering the curve of his ass. “You sure about that? ‘Cause I’d think naked and  _ in _ your bed would be way more appealing.”

Green eyes did take a moment to rove over the sight, but Ignis otherwise gave no indication of falling for Noct’s ploy. “If you’d like to make yourself useful, why not go help Prompto clean the deck? I’ve got work that needs finishing, and I’ll thank you to refrain from distracting me.”

“Well, that’s no fun.” Then, as he was sitting up and stretching his arms over his head (another flash of green), a different thought occurred to Noct. “Hey, Igs. Didn’t you promise to teach me to fight today?” 

“Ah, I haven’t forgotten. But later, after dinner.” He had turned away and was skimming over what appeared to be a map, holding down the edges of the weathered paper with both hands. “Unless you’d prefer to ask Gladio or Nyx to practice with you now?” 

“No, no. Later is fine.” Noct shuddered at the thought of either of those muscle-heads bearing down on him with a sword, wooden or not. “Guess...I’ll just go find Prompto, then. Unless there’s still a chance I can interest you in coming back to bed?”

“Please give Prompto my regards.”

“Right.” Not bothering to mask his disappointment, Noctis at last slipped from the bed to begin his day. He pulled on his pants and a loose-fitting blue tunic, and raked his fingers back through his mussed hair in lieu of actually brushing it. The effect, at least in Ignis’ opinion, was rather endearing. He couldn’t resist leaning in to return a chaste kiss when Noctis passed by. 

“Tomorrow,” he promised against those sweet lips. “We can stay in bed together as long as you like.” 

This had Noctis grinning wildly when the stepped out of the captain’s quarters and bumped right into, of all people, Gladiolus. 

“Well, well. ‘Bout time you rose and shone, ain’t it, Princess?” 

His grin vanished in an instant. “Good morning to you, too.” But his attempt to slip by the large, feral-eyed pirate was thwarted by broad shoulders moving right into his path. 

“What? Get tired of biting pillows, or did Cap finally kick you out?”

“Like  _ you’re _ one to talk.” Gladio, he knew, had a twisted sense of humor, and that his words held about as much malice as a kitten with a string. Still, the joke went underappreciated -- especially considering he  _ hadn’t _ gotten laid that morning. “I’m going to give Prompto a hand with cleaning. Speaking of which, why aren’t you with him today? I thought you two were joined at the hip?”  _ That,  _ he mused _ , was quite the understatement. _

A cough, then Gladio was looking away uncomfortably. “Yeah, well. He’s had plenty of training. Kid can handle himself without me having to hang over his shoulder all the time.”

“ _ He _ kicked  _ you  _ out, didn’t he?” Noctis couldn’t have hid the amusement from his face even if he’d wanted to. “What’d you do to piss him off?”

Instead of a reply, Noct got an arm full of elbow as Gladio pushed past him into Ignis’ quarters. Before he slammed the door, he cast a sharp amber glare back over his tattooed shoulder. “Remember your place,  _ Caelum _ . You may be fucking the captain, but  _ I’m _ still the first-mate around here.” 

“Duly noted.” As the door shuddered on its hinges, Noctis smirked and turned back towards the deck.

 

Gladio grumbled his way into the room, expression sour when he approached the desk and Ignis sitting behind it. And, as usual, his captain missed nothing about his mood. “Have a fight with Prompto, did we?” he said without even looking up from the map spread out in front of him. 

The dark-haired pirate stopped in his tracks, started to snap a retort, then thought better of it and plopped himself onto the edge of the desk. “He told me I was acting too jealous,” he sighed. “‘Overbearing’ I think was the word he used.”

Across from him, Ignis’ raised eyebrow was the only physical sign he was listening. “And what could you have possibly done to make him think something like that?” 

“Are you on my side or are you being an ass?” It really was hard to tell the difference with Ignis sometimes. “Hmph. I may have...punched someone.” 

“...You punched someone.”

“Nyx. I punched Nyx.”

_ Now  _ he had his captain’s attention. Ignis fixed his eyes on him as he steepled his hands on the desk, clearly gearing up for a conversation neither of them wanted to be having. “Fighting among the crew is frowned upon, Gladio, you know this.”

“Well, it wasn’t much of a fight, not as fast as he went down.”

“ _ Gladiolus _ .”

“Look, he started it! He had his hands  _ all over _ Prom, and --”

“Prompto is neither your property nor in need of your protection.”

The other pirate snapped his mouth shut in the space of a heartbeat. 

“In fact, until you make your intentions with him  _ clear _ , I’d dare say Prompto is as free to do what he pleases as anyone else on this ship, stowaway or not. At any rate, he doesn’t need you to go charging to his rescue like some kind of brainless, beastly brute. Understood?” 

Gladio slumped down on the desk, the words as sobering as a slap across the face (he’d already received one of those, too, of course). Several moments passed while he alternated between self-pity and regret, until Ignis cleared the tension in the air with a wave of his hand. 

“Now then. That can’t be the reason you’ve come to see me today. What do you need?” 

“Oh, you know,” Gladio smiled weakly, attempting to shrug off his mood. “Just realized we never talk anymore. I missed you.” 

The frown Ignis had been wearing broke into a sly grin at that. “I see. Perhaps we’ve  _ both _ been a bit preoccupied, haven’t we?”

A dry laugh. “Yeah. Guess you could say that.” There was a stool in the corner of the room, and Gladio dragged it over to the desk before settling himself down on it. Not that it was any more comfortable than the desk itself, but it put him at a better height to meet his captain face to face. “Actually, that’s kinda what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Oh? Do you need my blessing for Prompto to make an honest man out of you?”

“What? No.” Gladio cleared his throat and leaned in further. “I was gonna tell you that the crew’s been...talking. About you. And Noctis.”

Ignis hardly seemed impressed as he took out a complicated-looking compass and began to plot points across the map. “There has been no need to hide our relationship. I couldn’t care less if they disapprove or not.” 

“Uh, no, Cap, that’s not quite the problem. Y’see.” He paused, running thick fingers back through his mane of hair while he sought for a delicate way to put things. “Some of the boys, they think…. Well, they think you’re goin’ soft.” 

“ _ Soft? _ ” Emerald eyes flashed in surprise and insult. 

“Yeah. I mean, you  _ have _ been cooped up in this room almost every day since we left port. Pining, screwing, whatever. But your absence on deck hasn’t been...unnoticed.” He gave his captain a pointed stare, gaze unwavering until at last it was Ignis who looked away with a sigh.

“...And what, pray tell, would you suggest I do about it?” 

“Well, if I were you, I’d show ‘em a bit of that old Sagefire routine. Y’know, steal some treasure, stab someone. You used to be good at that stuff.” 

“I still  _ am _ ,” Ignis countered defensively. And he was,  _ of course _ he was. Just because he hadn’t had an opportunity to prove himself in a while…. 

“Well, it’s just that….” Gladio swept his hand over the map on the desk between them, indicating the general direction of Insomnia. “We’ve spent the better part of the year gong back and forth to port. And while some of us aren’t complaining, some of the others are itching for a thrill. Treasure, battle.  _ Gold _ .”  

“We have enough gold.”

Gladio’s eyes went wide, and he released a high-pitched gasp as if to say he’d been completely and utterly scandalized. “See! That’s what I mean! The Sagefire  _ I  _ knew would  _ never _ say a fool thing like that.” 

Ignis sighed heavily and put down his compass. “Maybe I’m just tired, Gladio. It isn’t easy being captain, you know. It’s not like I  _ chose _ this position.” 

“Yeah. I know. I was there, Igs.” Mirroring his friend’s somber expression, he thought back to the days when the both of them were much younger. When Ignis’ eyes were fresh with a sense of adventure and the freedom that the seas had promised. Gladio had only been on the  _ Regalia _ for a few months when that fateful stop in Tenebrae had brought the talented -- and rebellious -- son of a nobleman to them. Not unlike Noctis, in a way, Gladio mused, though Ignis had been hardened from the start. A childhood of pressure and expectations had pushed him to exchange all the wealth and comfort of his former life for the cold, lonely nights of a pirate out at sea. 

Back then, their captain had been a fierce, older man, his eyes menacing and his words dripping with venom at every turn. He was a cruel, soulless leader even by pirate standards, and the years had only served to further blacken his heart. Most of the crew had talked one way or another about mutiny, about slitting his throat and taking the ship -- and the title of Captain -- for themselves. But in the end, only Ignis has been bold enough to back up his words. 

He’d put a dagger right through Old Besithia’s chest. And the moment he did, the legend of Sagefire had been born. 

Gladio regarded his friend now with understanding in his warm, amber gaze. Ignis had just been doing the right thing. He’d been young and naive and trying to protect the closest thing he had to a family from a dangerous madman. But in doing so, he’d ended up shouldering the very burdens of responsibility he’d tried to escape back home.  

“Just think about it, alright, boss?” Gladio laid a hand on his friend’s shoulder, offered what he hoped was an encouraging smile. “And thanks.”

“For?”

“The advice. About Prompto. Maybe it’s time we both thought a little harder about what we want.” As his first-mate got to his feet and pounded the crick out of his back, Ignis took a moment to consider the weight of his words.  _ What he really wanted?  _ Surely he wasn’t talking about Noct? 

“You’re implying I have a choice in the matter?”

A casual shrug. “Hey. We knew what this life was when we signed up. Men of the sea, leaving the land behind. You can have one or the other, but never both. Here, on this ship, you’ve got your sea. But Noct?” He smirked, shook his head. “That kid is all land. Never seen anyone so out of place as he is here.”

Ignis frowned. Stared down at his map and his tools and his fists clenched in his lap. Finally managed a weak laugh despite the way his throat had gone bone dry. “You talk awfully big for someone with so many relationship problems.”

“Yeah. Good luck, Cap’n. I’ve got a couple of apologies to go make.”

 

As usual, the deck was easily ten times hotter than the shade and shelter of Ignis’ room below the helm. The air smelled of salt and sweat and far less pleasant odors, ones Noct feared he’d never quite adjust to. 

Yet Prompto’s bright blond head was a sight for sore eyes, and as soon as he spotted the other Insomnian taking a break under the shade of a mast, he beelined straight for him. 

“Hey. Mind if I join you?”

Blue eyes as light as the summer sky beamed up at him. Prompto scooted over to make room, then patted the cool bit of deck next to him. “Sure! It’s Noct, right? Can I call you Noct?“

“Yeah, Noct is fine,” he said, grinning. The kid’s smile was instantly contagious. “Ignis sent me up here to give you a hand. With cleaning, or something.” 

“Oh, you’re too late. Already finished.” Prompto held up both of his hands, the palms of which were covered in stains from muck and tar. Not that he seemed particularly bothered, though. In fact, he appeared perfectly content sitting in the shade and watching the sea. “But I never mind company if you’re up for it. Pirates are great and all, but they aren’t exactly the best conversationalists.” 

Noctis had to chuckle at that one. Considering what he knew about Prompto (and that was surprisingly little), he didn’t seem to do much  _ conversing _ with them, either. Or, he thought, perhaps that was just Gladio. 

“I don’t mind. We haven’t really had a chance to get to know each other, now that I think about it.” Which was really a shame. Prompto appeared to be around the same age as him, and had a bright, playful personality that was instantly magnetic. Noctis somehow felt that, given the chance, they could have become close friends back in Insomnia. 

As if sensing the appraising look on him, Prompto blushed and glanced down at his lap, smile never faltering. “You’re right. Well, I know a lot about you, at least. You’re pretty famous back home, right up there with royalty in my book. When I saw you that night in the tavern, I was so shocked I almost spilled beer all over the bar.”

“W-wait, you recognized me?” Noct at least had the tact not to tell Prompto he remembered  _ him _ as the distraction that allowed him to meet Ignis in the first place. 

“Yeah! I was too shy to say anything then, but I did always wonder what you were doing there.” A knowing grin beneath pink, freckled cheeks. “Never woulda guessed you were after  _ a pirate captain _ .”

“It...wasn’t like that!” Feeling his own cheeks growing warm, Noct did his best to force the conversation in a different direction. “Anyway. How did someone like you end up working at a tavern in the first place? Wasn’t it kinda...dangerous?” Horny pirates notwithstanding, bars just seemed like a bad place for a young, cute, easy-going kid like Prompto. 

“Not really. It was a lot better than the brothel.”

“Bro--?!” Noct nearly clamped a hand over his mouth to stop himself from being rude. But his eyes, it seemed, gave him away easily enough. 

The blonde laughed. “Oh, don’t worry. I didn’t actually work there.” His answer had Noct relaxing visibly -- at least until he opened his mouth again. “My mother did. It’s where I was born and grew up. When I turned sixteen, they did  _ ask _ me if I wanted to stay on, but….” He shrugged, oblivious to his companion’s shock. “I felt like there was something else out there, y’know? Something maybe I was meant to do, and I wasn’t going to find it if I just stayed where I was. So I followed my gut and started working with Miss Cindy at the bar.”

Noctis nodded slowly, carefully. “...Aaand you ended up on a pirate ship.” 

“I know! It feels like destiny.” Prompto caught sight of the look he was being given and laughed again. “Come on, you can’t tell me you don’t feel it? I grew up hearing stories of pirates. My mother always spoke so highly of them. Some of her best customers, she said, always honest and fair. Far better gentlemen than the  _ actual _ gentlemen who came to the brothel.”

“...Sounds like you get your tastes from her.”

“Hah! Yeah, you’re probably right. You know. I always...kinda...hoped,” he said, glancing out at the water, his eyes turning an almost sad shade of blue despite his smile. “That my father was one of the pirates she always talked about. But, knowing my luck, he was probably nothing more than a common goat herder.” Finishing with a self-deprecating laugh that immediately had Noct’s chest tightening with something akin to sympathy, Prompto at last turned a smile on him again. “Guess that’s not a very interesting story, huh?”

Noct shook his head quickly. “Actually, I’d say ‘interesting’ is pretty good word for it. And who knows? You seem to be fitting in just fine on this ship, much better than I am. Maybe your father really  _ was  _ a pirate.”

There was a moment, when Prompto’s expression hovered between surprise and embarrassment at the unexpected flattery, that Noct thought he might say more. His mouth opened and closed a few times as if searching for the right words, but just before he could string them together a different, deeper voice cut him off.

“Prom! Hey, there you are.” Gladio. Of course. Noct rolled his eyes as the large, tactless pirate jogged over, his eyes locked on the blonde. “Glad I found you. Can we talk?”

As warm and bright as Prompto’s expression had been a mere moments before, it was instantly transformed into an unreadable sheet of ice. Even Noctis shivered at the way he crossed his arms and turned to stare out at the ocean without so much as acknowledging the other’s presence. 

Gladio’s shoulders visibly slumped. “H-hey, don’t be like that. I want to apologize for --” He stopped to glare down at Noctis as if just noticing him there at last. “A little privacy, maybe? Is that too much to ask on this damn ship?” 

“Sor- _ ry _ .” Noctis rolled his eyes even more obviously this time as he got to his feet and brushed the dirt from his otherwise spotless pants. “Didn’t realize you cared who was watching.”

“Beat it, pipsqueak.”

“I’m  _ going _ . Oh, by the way. Prompto?” The blonde turned, smoothly ignoring Gladio to flash Noctis a cheery smile. “I hope you find it. That thing you were looking for.”

Blue eyes, round and bright and swimming with emotion, followed him as he made his way across the deck in search of something to kill time until dinner.

~~~~~~~~~

Noctis crinkled his nose and tightened his grip on the pommel of the sword. It was light, made of wood and felt altogether alien in his palm. Totally unlike the swords he was used to back home. Fencing, of course, had been one of those things that boys of his age and status just  _ did _ , right alongside piano lessons and ballroom dancing. But nothing he had ever practiced before could have prepared him for  _ this.  _

Without warning, Ignis lunged again, and it was all Noct could do to whip his blade up in a messy parry. He managed to swat the pirate’s sword away, but Ignis was ready with a counter right to the thigh. The flat of his wooden blade smacked hard against Noct’s leg, sending the younger man howling and hopping up onto one foot.

“I thought you said you knew how to hold a sword, darling,” Ignis mocked, his green eyes menacing in the fiery late-afternoon light that spilled into the room. He tucked his own sword into his belt and offered a steadying hand. “Perhaps we should return to the basics?”

“I  _ do _ know how to hold a sword. You’re just cheating.” Back on his feet, Noctis aimed right at Iggy’s shoulder and took a swing forward. He was parried effortlessly, thrown back by the force of Ignis’ momentum in redrawing, but this time he was ready for the counter when it came. Sweeping his blade in a low arc, he cut off Ignis’ attack and used it against him to push the older man’s arm out wide and leave him defenseless. 

Or, so he’d thought. The second he stepped forward into the opening, Ignis smirked and flicked his wrist. He brought his sword down right onto the top of Noct’s head, not hard enough to hurt anything more than his pride. “ _ Oww _ !” he whined anyway as he let his wooden blade drop to the floor. “Not fair!”

Ignis swooped. He caught Noct’s chin between his fingers, held him locked in place as his lips descended within a hair’s breadth of the younger man’s own. Certain he had Noct’s full attention, he gazed into his eyes and smiled. “Pirate.”

Noctis blinked. Then burst into a fit of laughter as he tugged Ignis into his arms. “Oh, yeah? Well, I could be a pirate, too. A nasty, filthy, cheating scoundrel just like you.”

“ _ Mm _ , I can already picture it,” Ignis said, laughing. Noctis kissed him, swift yet purposeful, before breaking away from the embrace and strolling across the room. On the corner of Iggy’s desk chair hung an old hat -- black, tri-cornered, with a billowing white feather tucked into the brim. Though he’d never actually seen Ignis wear it, the thing had caught his eye the very first night he’d stayed with the captain. The hat was tacky, over-the-top even for a pirate, and it fit perfectly on his own head as he flipped  it once and nestled it into place.

“Avast, mateys!” Noct harked over the sound of Ignis’ laughs. Affecting the most commanding stance he could manage, he grinned and pointed a finger right at the other man in the room. “What ho! A landlubber stowed away on  _ my _ pirate ship?!”

“Noctis, you sound ridiculous,” came the response between fits of muffled laughter.

From under the hat Noctis gasped. “Does the scurvy dog dare to insult me?  _ Me _ , the fearsome and terrible Sagefire?”

“Oh, come now, I don’t sound a thing like that.”

Grinning, Noct strode back across the room, his bare feet falling as heavy as boots as he approached his target. “ _ You’d do well to show a little humility in front of the crew _ ,” he said, mimicking the lilt of Ignis’ voice and shutting him up with a tight snap of his jaw. “Now, then. On your knees, scallywag. Before I make you scrub the brig.”

In the face of Noct’ playful -- yet somehow totally commanding -- smirk, Ignis swallowed. And found himself kneeling before his mind had even caught up with the rest of him. 

“Good. Give me your shirt.”

“What?”

“Your shirt, stowaway. Or you may walk the plank.”

Ignis furrowed his brows. He didn’t really sound like that... _ did he? _ Regardless, he continued to play along, divesting himself of his white ruffled top and handing it to Noctis, leaving himself bare above the waist. He waited while Noct tugged it on over his own darker shirt, readjusted the feathered hat, and locked his hands on his hips. “Pants, too. Off.”

Now he was just being silly. Still, Ignis could see where this was going and wasn’t averse. Quite the opposite, really, and he caught and held Noct’s gaze as he first removed his belt, then his trousers. These were set aside on the floor (Noct apparently seeing little need for more clothing at this point), and soon familiar hands were guiding him up. 

Ignis was taller by half a head, which made it a little more difficult for Noctis to be commanding when he was the one looking up into glowing green pools. But he was determined, and Ignis had caught onto the game, so they made it work. 

“Only one thing to do with stowaways,” Noct breathed. Iggy’s lips were close now, temptingly so, but he resisted. “Get on the bed.”

“Aye-aye, captain.” There was mirth in those eyes, deep down beneath the darkened lust and affected obedience. Ignis moved backwards toward his own bed, keeping Noct in his sight as he trailed along, the distance between them never breaking. As soon as the pirate’s legs hit the mattress, Noctis was ready to follow him down. 

At last their mouths met. Noctis kissed him with unusual aggression, his lips moving almost possessively over Ignis’ mouth, his throat, his neck. He trailed sharp nips over his skin, groaning at the taste of salt and sweat and copper where he sucked too hard. His body fell naturally into the space between Ignis’ legs, which had already locked into place around his hips and seemed to be drawing him in. 

But the moment Ignis’ ground up against his erection, Noctis pulled back with a startled gasp. 

He looked down at Ignis below him and flushed, eyes going wide. 

“ _ Noct _ .” Voice low, rasping with each panted breath, Ignis curled his fingers in the back of Noct’s shirt -- _ his shirt _ \-- in an attempt to tug him back down. “Please, don’t stop.”

“You...sure?”

The next breath Ignis pushed from his lips was almost a laugh. “Pirates never ask, only take what they want.” 

An audible swallow, then, “I want  _ you,  _ Iggy.”

Resuming the fiery passion of their kiss was instantaneous. While Noct fumbled one-handed with the clasps at the front of his own pants, Ignis felt blindly around under the pillows next to his head. It didn’t take long to find the small vial of oil he kept there, or to press it demandingly into the palm of Noct’s free hand. They had done this enough times by now for Noctis to understand the routine. Despite his nerves, despite the thrill of the unexpected power, he trusted that Noct wouldn’t want to hurt him if he could help it.

Still, Ignis tensed when the first slick finger circled his entrance. He distracted himself by burying his face in the younger man’s neck, kissing and nipping his way down to the curve of his collar. Noct’s finger pushed inside him and he groaned, teeth raking over pale flesh as his fingers tightened, but the burn didn’t last long. More pressure, more oil, and a second finger worked its way in beside the first. 

Noctis was moving as slowly as he could. But Ignis could sense his urgency plying against his restraint, felt the heat and the need of Noct’s cock sliding over his inner thigh as he worked him open. He wanted to tell him to hurry, that he wasn’t going to break, but Ignis himself could hardly find his voice. So he clung to the younger man’s shoulders and bucked his hips up, hoping to show his eagerness with his body rather than his words. 

It worked. Near his ear, Noct let out a whine and pulled his fingers out with one final stretch. The sound of oil being applied liberally to flesh, then Noctis was biting his lip as he lined up the head of his cock against Iggy’s tight muscles. “Oh,  _ gods _ ,” he gasped, already feeling overwhelmed and he hadn’t even pushed into him yet. “Igs, I….”

“Love you, as well.” Green eyes flashed up at him, feverishly bright above flushed cheeks. “ _ Please _ .”

He dove in, snatching up Ignis’ lips even as he bore down into him. And groaned. 

Iggy was like molten heat surrounding him, engulfing him as he sunk further, deeper inside. The oil helped but he was still impossibly tight, so much so that Noct was seeing stars and gasping for breath against his mouth before he was fully sheathed. Beneath him, Ignis had gone silent. Forcing himself to relax despite his body’s instincts, mind numbing as more and more of Noct’s length plunged into him. He felt full, impossibly full, stretched too wide and yet…. 

The shudders that traveled up his spine were hardly from pain. Noct’s weight inside him felt good,  _ felt right _ , and the moment he was able to suck in a breath he used it to beg for more. 

Everything was intense. From Noct’s inexperienced yet eager thrusts to the heat of his breath against his ear, Ignis sensed everything tenfold. No doubt his nails were digging into Noctis’ back, but neither of them were much inclined to care in that moment. Deeper, faster, Noct drove into him with abandon, not slowing until he felt his limits beginning to strain. 

“ _ Nh, I-Iggy, I’m… --” _

Rather than words, Ignis responded by tightening his legs around Noct’s waist and pivoting up against him. They both groaned -- Ignis with pleasure as the cock inside him drove at just the right angle, and Noctis with the force of his climax pushing him over the edge. He came, thrusting home, the power of it leaving him breathless and his skin prickling with energy.

Before Ignis could react, Noct slumped off of him and onto his knees beside the mattress, taking his still-throbbing cock between his lips in one smooth motion. 

Ignis, too,quickly found his release under the guidance of those heavy, sated blue eyes. 

Throughout it all, Noctis had never bothered to take off the hat. 

~~~~~~~

Aranea’s boat was spotted in the dead of night. Libertus had seen her shadow drawing closer from out of the blackened sea, saw her straining against the waves, and his voice had rung out loud enough to wake the entire crew. They rallied, clamoured over the side of the ship to pull her on board the moment she came within range. 

It wasn’t a moment too soon.

Ignis and Noct rushed forward as one. At their feet, Aranea coughed and sputtered, her lungs filled with more ocean than air and her body weak with exhaustion. And no small wonder -- they hadn’t expected her to return for another day, at best. How fast had she been rowing to reach the  _ Regalia _ so soon? 

“Highwind, what news?” Ignis asked, his words sharp, cutting through the night air. 

Nyx and Libertus, who had a hand on each of her shoulders, glared up at him. “Captain, she needs rest, let us take her to --”

“ _ No! _ ” Aranea’s voice was gravel as she pushed them both away. Despite her aching limbs, she drew herself up, staring directly at her captain -- and the black-haired young man beside him -- with dark, fevered eyes.

“What news?” Ignis asked again. 

“The governor read your letter, kid. From start to finish, ten damn times.” Her smile was twisted, wry. “ _ I’ve fallen in love with a pirate, gone off to make a life with him at sea. _ Tch! He didn’t believe a word of it! Wanted  _ my  _ head on a pike for handing him ‘such degrading lies!’”

Noctis stood frozen, his heart pounding wildly against his ribs. This had to be a nightmare,  _ had to be _ , because if his father had rejected his letter then that meant….

“He’s coming for you,” Aranea growled. “And he’s got an entire fleet at his back.” 

She stumbled, collapsed exhausted into the waiting arms of Nyx and Libertus. Both of whom turned to glare at Noct as if to say his stupidity had doomed them all. 

And, in fact, it had.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Did you guys really expect this story to NOT involve an epic sea battle? 'Cause. That would be. Uber lame. LOL)


	7. Thieves and Beggars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A parlay has been arranged aboard the Governor's ship. This is Noctis' last chance to convince his father not to blast the _Regalia_ \- and her crew - right out of the water, but an unexpected presence shifts the course of the conversation. At last, Noct finds himself recalling the final night he spent with Ignis in Insomnia...and the gift he was given under the stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With Ignoct Week over, I've slowed down somewhat in the pace of writing this story. But, in the end, I think doing so will work out better plot-wise, and leave a bit of mystery between each chapter ;)   
> Thanks as always for the support!! If you'd like to read more info and drabbles about this AU (including how the rest of Prompto and Gladio's first night went down back in Hammer Head) [check out my blog!](https://lhugbereth.tumblr.com)

 

The ships were waiting. There were six of them in total. His father’s, of course, in the center, all pale wood and fresh white sails decorated with inlay and carvings befitting a nobleman’s vessel. Three were from the Royal Navy, flags bearing the colors of the Nox Fluerets (gold and purple, with a touch of pearl) and flanking the  _ Citadel _ on both sides. The last two Noctis didn’t recognize, but they were darker in color and seemed less like ships and more like floating fortresses, hovering at the back of the fleet like bodyguards. 

He stood on the bow, a northern wind blowing his hair and his cloak around him, but he barely felt the chill. His attention was fixed on the sight of his father’s approach. The  _ Citadel _ had pulled ahead while the others held back, slowly closing the distance. 

Behind him, Ignis chuckled darkly. “Seems the Governor has accepted your request for parlay.”

Noctis certainly hoped so. While a parlay wouldn’t guarantee a favorable outcome, it would allow him and his captain safe passage on board the other ship long enough to plead his case. Which, at this point, simply amounted to, ‘ _ No, father, I haven’t been kidnapped, I really have run away to fuck a pirate.’ _

When he shivered, it wasn’t only from the wind.

“Ready the plank,” came Ignis’ order at his back, and several of the crew scrambled out of their numbness and into action. A large wooden board was dragged across the deck and propped up on the railing, and soon Ignis was turning to lay a hand on Noct’s shoulder. “It’s time,” he said solemnly, leading the younger man away from the prow. 

Hand in hand, they stood before the gangplank, waiting as the ship drew steadily nearer. 

Then, in the midst of once more running through the impending conversation in his mind, a different thought occurred to Noct. He whirled around at Ignis’ side and began scanning the faces of the crew surrounding them. “Where’s Prompto?” he asked, surprising even himself, until at last a bright blond tuft appeared and the man attached to it stepped forward. 

“H-here,” came his nervous half-laugh. From the way his freckles popped against the red tint of his cheeks, it was clear he was as confused as the rest of the crew at having been singled out. 

But Noct reached out for his wrist, smiling as he coaxed him to stand at his side. “I want you to come with us.” 

As one, Prompto and Ignis balked. 

Noctis’ smile was sheepish. “If my father sees there’s another Insomnian on the ship, he might be more willing to listen. You can help me convince him we’re not in any danger.” 

Blue eyes shot nervously from Noct to Ignis, then back over his shoulder to where Gladio was watching them out of the crowd. Prompto didn’t want to refuse his friend, but the idea that  _ he _ was somehow supposed to change the mind of the Governor -- when he wasn’t even dressed for it -- was... well it was preposterous! Or, at least that’s the word Ignis would have used. Prompto merely settled for, “Are you  _ crazy?” _

Given the situation, Noct was inclined to think that, yes, maybe he was. But there was no denying the relief that came with having Prompto on his right and Ignis on his left, fingers twined with his, as the  _ Citadel  _ drew up alongside the  _ Regalia _ . On the deck of the ship, familiar faces were moving in a blur. Noct recognized many of them from the halls of his father’s manor -- Dustin, Monica, and even Cor, his old fencing instructor -- but all of them looked unusually tense, grim. Being so near a pirate ship, no doubt, had set their nerves on edge.  

Resisting the urge to wave in greeting, Noctis instead sucked in a deep breath and nodded for the gangplank to be lowered. Wood clanked down hard against the rails of the other ship, but it held steady. Noctis stepped up first, followed closely by his captain and then Prompto who brought up the rear. Unable to resist one last look back at Gladio, the blonde swallowed down his fears and shuffled bravely after the others. 

 

“Noctis! Thank the gods you’re alive!”

Governor Regis got to his feet the moment the trio entered the drawing room. His face was haggard under hair long since greyed with worry, but his eyes shone in relief as soon as he laid eyes on Noct, unbound and unharmed. Leaning forward on his cane, he looked in that moment for all the world as though he wanted nothing more than to rush to his son’s side and embrace him. Yet, as always, a sense of propriety held him back. “You look well!”

“Uh, yeah. Nice to see you, too.” Noct looked first to his father, then at the other two faces in the room. One was familiar, one was not. A strange man, with sharp golden eyes and hair the color of burning wood pulled back at the nape of his neck, sat cross-legged on a stool to Regis’ left, looking completely comfortable and even bored while he watched the proceedings. His demeanor -- and his condescending gaze -- immediately had Noctis regretting the entire plan. 

At his side, he felt Ignis tense, as well. “ _ Admiral _ ,” came the seething acknowledgement, and Noct knew he must be talking to Clarus Amicitia, his father’s closest friend. The man stood (he had never seen him sit down, come to think of it) to Regis’ right, arms folded severely over his chest as he returned the pirate’s glare with a deadly one of his own. 

“Scientia.”

Even Prompto stopped shuffling on his feet and stood rigid as the tension in the room turned palpable. 

Regis waved his hand in an attempt to clear it. “Noct. When I received a letter detailing your...supposed  _ plans _ to join these rapscallions,” he said, narrowing his eyes at Ignis in turn. “I rushed here as quickly as I could. It brings me great relief to see you unharmed. The horrible lies that were written in that note, I….”

Sucking in a breath, Noctis cut him off with the words he’d practiced in his head over and over and over since that morning. He could only pray they didn’t betray him now. “Father, I know what the letter said. I wrote it myself. It wasn’t some kind of elaborate ransom note, or even meant to upset you. I, um.”  _ Dammit, why was this so difficult?  _ Regis was looking at him as if he’d been slapped, his eyes wide and jaw slack with disbelief. Clarus, too, had shifted his apparent disapproval from Ignis to Noct, his brows drawn halfway up his forehead and rising higher with each word. Only the strange man seated behind his father seemed unmoved and, indeed, like he couldn’t care less. 

But despite the powerful eyes on him, Noct had no choice but to continue. If he didn’t, then the ship, the crew, Ignis -- he would lose everything. The truth was their last hope.

“I left home of my own will,” he said at last. “This wasn’t the first time I’d thought about it. You know I’ve always been drawn to the sea, Father. I’ve always wanted to be here.”

“If you wanted a ship I would have built you one of your very own,” Regis frowned, his voice sounding wounded. “Or you could have sailed with Clarus, learned the ways of Her Majesty’s Navy, become an officer, an Admiral one day.”

“I don’t want to be an Admiral, Father….”

“Don’t say it."

"But --" 

"Noctis! Do not stand before me and tell me you’ve chosen… _ them _ .” 

“I love him!”

Green-grey eyes flashed with sudden anger as Regis banged the butt of his cane on the wooden floor. “I will not allow my son to go _galavanting_ _off_ with a despicable pirate!”

An uncomfortable silence followed the outburst. Noct took an almost imperceptible step closer to Ignis. Clarus’ gaze fell burdened to the floor. 

It was a new voice, calm and almost cheerful despite the tension, that finally spoke up next. “Touching, really, this little family reunion.” When Noct looked up, he wasn’t surprised to see the man with the terrifying eyes sitting up a little straighter on his stool. “But allow me to remind you, Governor, that we have more pressing matters that need attending?” 

Whirling as if to strike, Regis brought his cane swinging through the air and to an expert stop a mere hair’s breadth from the man’s crooked nose. He never flinched. “And I will remind  _ you _ , Izunia, that you are a  _ guest  _ on this vessel, and that you will hold your tongue until it is your turn to speak!”

_ Izunia _ ? As in,  _ Chancellor of Niflheim _ Izunia?! Noctis swallowed, suddenly unable to tear his eyes away from the man’s unfriendly sneer. What was his father thinking, allowing an enemy of Her Majesty’s empire to accompany him all the way here?! 

But Regis was whirling around again, eyes and frown falling not on Noctis this time, but on Ignis at his side. “Am I to presume  _ you _ are the one who has filled my son’s heart and mind with lies?”

Ignis cleared his throat as he stepped forward, much to Noct’s dismay. “No lies, sir. I merely return the affection that has been offered to me, freely, and of Noctis’ own will.”

“You,” came the snarl as Regis visibly quaked with rage. “Are a criminal.”

“True. But I’m an honest one, at least where Noctis is concerned. My feelings for him are genuine.” 

Despite it all, Noct felt his breath catch. He stared at Iggy’s back, fought desperately against the urge in that moment to reach out for him. How, in the face of his furious father, one of the most decorated Admirals in all of the Royal Navy, and the right hand of the Niflheim Emperor himself, could Ignis still so calmly and eloquently defend their love? 

It made him want to throw him down and kiss him senseless.

“Governor, if you would permit me a moment to speak?” Izunia rose this time, striding forward swiftly before Regis or anyone else could shove him back in his place. “Sweeping of feet and stealing of innocent hearts aside, this man before us is indeed a criminal. Looting, plundering, ransacking,” he began, ticking off each accusation as casually as he might have listed off desserts from a menu. “Sinking of numerous merchant vessels, and, of course,  _ murder _ . And those are only the crimes he’s committed in  _ your _ waters.” 

He turned his golden eyes on Ignis now. Noct shivered at the sight of them and cast propriety aside in favor of grabbing his captain’s hand. “Of course, Sagefire here hails from Tenebrae which -- as you all surely know -- is now under  _ our  _ rule, making him a citizen of the Empire and thus accountable to our laws. I assure you this pirate’s villainy, and the justice that awaits him in Gralea, are severe.”

Though Ignis’ face remained stoic, his fingers clutched around Noct’s tight enough to hurt. 

“Be that as it may, these two…er, three men are here under official parlay.” Clarus’ voice was hard as he spoke. Clearly he was just as unnerved by Izunia’s words as the others. “They must be allowed to return to their ship without injury.” 

“I do not threaten, Admiral. I merely wanted him to fully understand the...position in which he now stands. Before I extend to him a very generous offer.” 

“I decline.” 

Izunia grinned at Ignis, his teeth not-quite white and unusually jagged. “But you haven’t even heard what it is.”

Shoulders stiff, eyes narrowing, Ignis shook his head. “I know what you want, weasel. The answer is ‘no.’” 

“Ah.” Whatever it was Izunia saw when he looked into Ignis’ fierce gaze only served to widen his smile. A strange reaction, Noctis thought, but then again he was a very strange man. “Well. I did  _ try _ .”

And then he was strolling back to his seat, humming and grinning to himself as if he’d somehow come out of that conversation on top. ‘Unsettling’ was an understatement.

“At any rate,” Regis said once the chancellor was quite through. “That is a matter for another time. The purpose of  _ this  _ meeting is to see my son returned home and with no more talk of pirates or running away or any fairy tale nonsense.” 

“Father, no --”

"That wasn't a question. This parlay has come to an end."

Noct snapped his mouth shut. He knew that tone, had known it for eighteen years, and he also knew that when his father used it there was no point in talking back. It was the same tone that had scared Noctis away from the docks as a child. The one that had convinced him his dreams of ever seeing the world beyond Insomnia’s waters would remain a dream and nothing more. He hated that tone because in the face of it there was only one thing he could do. 

At last, he sighed. "You're right. We're done here." Noctis squeezed his fingers around Ignis’ palm and turned to leave, pulling his captain along after him. Ignis went easily, but not before bowing his head in respect to each of the men across the room, favoring the Niflheim Chancellor with a particularly dark smile when he rose. 

Only Prompto, to his own dismay, had yet to move from the spot. As if rooted, he looked between the two parties -- his friend and captain retreating from the room, the older gentlemen who fumed as they watched Noct leave -- and shuffled uncomfortably on his feet. Noctis had asked him to come along for a reason, hadn't he? To make things easier, and to help him plead his case. Yet things had clearly gone as sour as could have been expected, while Prompto had yet to say a word. He hated feeling useless, knew he had to step forward while he still had a chance. But…what was he supposed to say?

"Prompto, come on," Noct called to him from the door. This was it, he thought, now or never. There was no time to think or plan. Prompto swallowed his nerves, balled his trembling fingers into fists at his side, and said the only thing he could in that moment -- the truth. 

"Mister Governor, sir? Um. My name is Prompto. Prompto Argentum." Five sets of eyes all whirled on him with dizzying speed. "I’m f-from Insomnia, too, used to work at the tavern with Miss Cindy. We had lots of pirates come through and, well, not all of them are as bad as you might think."

Halfway out the door, Noct froze. What was Prompto doing? 

"I haven't know Noctis long, sir. Only since we snuck on board that ship together. But he's been really kind, and he seems very happy with the Captain. Very,  _ very _ happy."

While Regis’ eyes widened, it was Clarus who took the liberty of responding in his place. "Do you expect us to believe that the two of you have been on a pirate vessel for over a week without…coming to harm?"

The blush that lit Prompto’s face was telling. "Nothing that wasn't  _ wanted _ , if that's what you mean. Sir." As a rather flustered Clarus settled back on his heels, Prompto chewed at his lip and continued. "I've met someone, too. He's rough around the edges sometimes, like all pirates are. But he's got a good heart, and he tries to protect me." Here, he paused, taking a moment to smile inwardly at the thought. "Anyway, I love him. And I know if someone like  _ me _ can steal a pirate’s heart, then Noctis can, too."

"Prompto…." Noct had forgotten how to breathe. His heart was pounding in his chest, and from the way Ignis’ hand squeezed around his, he knew the captain had been listening closely as well. 

No one else spoke. In the room, the only other sound was a soft clapping, Izunia’s smirk wide and crooked as he brought his hands together in mock applause. The sight -- combined with that of the bewildered Governor and Admiral with his head hung low --  had the blonde’s shoulders drooping. Prompto frowned, shuffled on his feet, then dipped into a clumsy bow before turning to follow Noct and Ignis out of the room. He didn't perk up again until they had crossed the gangplank back to their own ship and he caught sight of Gladio mid-deck. 

The blonde rushed forward and threw his arms around his neck. Gladio stumbled back a step with the force of it, but folded his arms around Prompto’s waist even as he looked to Iggy for some kind of an explanation.

"He's a good catch, that one," Ignis smiled wearily. Noct, too, was staring at the blonde from over the captain’s shoulder as if in awe. "I dare say you owe him a great deal of gratitude."

"Why’s that?"

"He just told your father what a good man you've become." 

Ignis wrapped an arm around Noct’s waist and led him forward, leaving Gladio and Prompto behind to gape at each other in disbelief. 

The rest of the crew was gathered below the helm, anxiously awaiting news of their fate. As Ignis stood before them, preparing to speak, no one missed the way he swept his fingers back through his hair or the tired look in his eyes, the usually bright color dulled. It came as no surprise to them, then, when he rose his voice and gave the order to prepare for battle. 

"I want every cannon manned and stocked. The rest of you, throw out the extra cargo in the hold and make ready to sail at once."

"Which is it, Captain?" The voice belonged to Libertus. "Do we fight or do we run?" 

Despite his weariness, Ignis flashed him a grin. A wild grin, as dark as it was fearsome, full of danger, excitement, and thrill. The grin of the dreaded Sagefire. "Oh, we shall give them a fight if that's what they want. But they're going to have to catch us first."

~~~~~~~~~~

Noctis was quiet that night. The  _ Regalia _ was long underway, the rocking of the ship more obvious with the rapid pace they had been setting since noon. He wondered if the fleet was already coming after them. The  _ Citadel _ was no war ship, but his father was stubborn, as was Admiral Amicitia.  _ Gladio’s father _ , he mused wryly, and wondered how he'd been so blind. 

It made sense, in a way. Clarus had never been a stranger in the Caelum home, though he usually came alone an on business. Noct couldn't remember ever meeting or even hearing about a wife, but he did remember once, when he was very young, seeing a boy. He'd been several years older, stern like Clarus, but with dark brown hair instead of white. His eyes, though -- those had been the same. 

He hadn't seen the boy again after that one time, though he could recall a time when Clarus had looked…sad. Withdrawn. Perhaps everyone had assumed his son had died, been killed at sea with the sailors he trained with. No one would have guessed Gladio had left to become the very thing his father hunted. 

Small world, indeed. Noct sighed as he stroked his fingers over the smooth skin of Ignis’ chest. All four of them, Prompto included, had so much in common. The sea called to them, and they had each given up so much in answer. But though Noct still couldn't be sure he was entirely suited to the pirate’s life, he was certain about one thing -- he didn't regret his choice. 

Beneath him Ignis shifted subtly, and one green eye cracked open from the pillows to watch him. "Go to sleep, Noct. I won't stand for you tickling me until morning." With a laugh, Noct drew his fingers down to Iggy’s side instead, letting the tips ghost over his skin with more purpose. 

"Oh, was that what I was doing? Oops."

The pirate captain tried, and failed, to stifle a smile. "You're an insufferable brat sometimes," he said. A hand slid up from under the covers, first gliding over the lean planes of Noct’s back, then down his side to cup his ass. It squeezed once, then slapped down just hard enough to make the younger man jolt. 

"H-hey, no fair," Noct laughed as his cheeks flushed a healthy shade of pink. "I wasn't trying to wake you, I was just…thinking. Which," he admitted as he looked into Iggy’s green eyes, now alert again, and at his soft lips. "Doesn't seem all that important right now."

Ignis smiled, both in amusement and understanding. Since they'd left the Governor’s ship, neither had felt ready to discuss the details of what had transpired during the parlay. Ignis had quickly busied himself with preparations, while Noct had sought out Prompto, both taking time to process the meeting in their own way. And then, once the sun had sunk below the horizon they were rapidly chasing, they had both immediately found comfort in one another’s arms. Even still, Ignis wasn't sure he was any more ready to hear Noctis’ decision than Noct was to give it, and so he deflected once more to less taxing pursuits. 

"I suppose there's only one way to get you to sleep now."

Noct’s reply was to fall into a smile as they kissed, slowly, languidly at first, then growing into something more. The younger man drew himself up the length of Ignis’ body beneath him, sighing airily at the evidence of their mounting lust pressing together between them, until he was able to settle his knees into place on either side of his waist. 

"This reminds me of our last night in Insomnia," he breathed against the pirate’s open lips. He was smiling, grinning even as he rolled his hips and brought their erections together. "On the beach, under the stars. It was so romantic."

Though his lungs ached for breath, Ignis managed a low chuckle. "Not more romantic, I hope," he said, fingers gliding over the curves of Noct’s hips, the cheeks of his ass, drawing closer to the cleft between them. "Than making love on a real ship. In a captain’s bed, no less."

" _ Mmm. _ " It wasn't quite an answer, but in that moment Iggy’s fingers brushed over his hole, still slick and tender from earlier in the night, and rendered him temporarily speechless. 

"You looked heavenly that night, like an angel. Only… _ more erotic _ ." He rolled his hips up and his fingers passed once more over sensitive muscles. Above him, Noctis hummed, moving to sit up more fully as he basked in the praise. "Would you show me that side of you again, tonight?"

"It’d be my  _ pleasure _ , Captain. Oh!" Suddenly shifting from sultry to surprised, Noct’s eyes tore away from the sight of Ignis flushing beneath him to somewhere over the side of the bed. Before the pirate could ask, Noct was scrambling off his lap and over to the pile of clothes that lay discarded where they’d fallen. Curious, and perhaps a little impatient, Ignis leaned up on an elbow to watch. 

"What are you…?"

"Found it!" Noct drew a small package out of the folds of his cloak, brown paper wrapped around something small enough to fit into his palm. Ignis’ gaze flashed in chilling understanding. 

"You still have it."

"Of course. It was my birthday present from my favorite pirate. I was afraid of losing it when I ran for the ship that night, but I've been carrying it with me in my pocket ever since."

"Noctis…."

"I wore it that night, remember? You said it looked so good on me…." He smiled before hopping back into place in Iggy’s lap, hips resuming their lazy circles as he pulled the medallion from the paper. He held it up by the silver chain so that the garnets of the skull’s eyes shone in the moonlight. Blood red against onyx. There was a flutter in Ignis’ chest, a controlled panic slowly rising to the surface, urging him to speak. But when Noct slipped the medallion over his head and let it fall with a  _ smack _ onto his bare chest, Ignis lost the ability to form any of the words he might have said. 

"Look at me, Ignis. Watch me and don't let me go."

He swallowed, nodded, as Noct raised his hips, spreading his thighs in the process. A swift lick to his palm, and Ignis groaned when familiar fingers surrounded him, stroked him, drew him up into position. Noct sat back slowly yet steadily, gasping through the pain of the stretch, but it was what he needed -- what they both needed -- to shut their minds out to everything else. 

Everything, Ignis knew as he laced his fingers with his lovers over his hips, but that damned medallion. The one he'd gone to the ends of the earth to find for Noctis without ever knowing who else might have set their sights on it. The chancellor -- and how he loathed to think of Izunia while Noctis was riding him so beautifully -- hadn't needed to say the words for Ignis to know instantly what he wanted… What Niflheim wanted. 

But a powerful thing in the wrong hands was too dangerous even for a pirate to risk. Much safer for the medallion to be worn by an angel,  _ his  _ angel, whose passionate voice rose to the very heavens when he moaned his pleasure. 

Ignis, too, felt himself slipping. The medallion faded to the edges of his vision and then his mind. Instead, there was only Noctis,  _ Noct _ , his greatest treasure and the love of his life, with his head thrown back and his body tight with lust. The captain groaned and pushed himself up, wrapped his arms around his lover’s frame and held him close as he fucked up inside, harder, faster, and yet it was all for him.  _ His _ pleasure,  _ his  _ body. Ignis wanted to worship him, give him the world and more if it pleased him. He loved Noctis, and whatever it took to have him, to keep him safe, he would do it. 

The voice above him broke and faltered as Noct came, hard and messy in the space between their bodies. With a gasp he slumped forward and clung, shuddering, to his captain’s shoulders as he continued to roll in his lap. "Iggy," he breathed into his ear. "I love you…. Please,  _ please. _ "

When at last Ignis came, it was with his lips latched to the side of Noct’s neck, and their fingers twined above the sheets.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More to come!


	8. For Honor and Glory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Battle draws nigh, and the crew of the Regalia are determined to make the most of what could be their last night. Gladio finally expresses the depths of his feelings for Prompto, while Ignis - after a harrowing discovery - is more certain than ever that Noctis is in need of protection, whatever the costs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeeey sorry for the long delay in getting this chapter out. In true pirate fashion, the boys need a night to let loose before the mayhem starts, so here's some fluff and smut with a bit of plot mixed in :)

“Can you see them?”

Noctis approached carefully. From where he stood, he could see Prompto leaning against the railing of the deck, peering through a spyglass toward the horizon directly behind their ship. His lips were drawn into a tight frown.

“Three of them, and they’re gaining.” As Noct stepped up onto the platform next to him, Prompto lowered the spyglass and turned to watch him instead.

“And my father’s ship?”

Prompto shook his head. “The white one? No sign of it. Here, take a look for yourself.” He passed him the spyglass and pointed in the general direction of their pursuers. It took a moment for Noct to focus through the clouded glass, and to scan along the horizon until the enemy ships came into view. But then there they were, all three of them just as Prompto had said - one bearing the gold-and-purple flags of Her Majesty’s Navy, two the blacks and reds he now recognized as the warships of the Niflheim Empire. Noctis felt his stomach sink.

“Izunia,” he spat, and Prompto barely managed to catch the spyglass as it was tossed back to him. “There’s no way he should be catching up to us with ships that large. What the hell is going on?”

“Shouldn’t we tell the Captain?” At Noct’s side, Prompto was peering out at the sea behind them with his unaided eyes. Even then, he could still make out three black shadows chasing them from the edge of the sky. “We won’t be able to run much longer.”

Forcing his gaze away from the horizon, Noctis sought out the figure of Ignis instead. A quick scan of the deck told him their captain was no longer there - perhaps he had already moved below to inspect the crew’s work with the cannons. It occurred to Noct that Ignis had been expecting a battle from the beginning, that he’d been aware that turning tail would only buy them a little time in the end. As if he had somehow known Izunia’s ships would outrun them.

“I’ll talk to him,” Noct said at last. “Hope he’s got a better plan than to just fight them head on.”

“Noct?” When he turned to face Prompto again, the blonde was staring at him with an undeniably sad expression. His hands were ringing around the length of the spyglass he still clutched at his chest. “Are you…. Are you sure you’re going to be able to do this?”

Confusion had him arching dark eyebrows. “Do what?”

“Fight with us. With pirates.” Prompto frowned, his gaze faltering. “That’s your father out there, isn’t it? I never, y’know, had one of those. But if I did, I don’t know if I could stand against him….”

“Prom…. Hey, don’t worry about me.” Forcing a smile he didn’t quite feel, Noct stepped forward and laid both hands on either side of his friend’s shoulders. Blue eyes shone as they met his. “I’ve made my choice. My place is right here next to you and Iggy.”

Maybe it wasn’t much of an answer, but Prompto seemed to accept it and he supposed that was the most that could be done. Hardly a sailor, much less a pirate, Noctis felt of little use against the impending battle, and yet he knew that giving up wasn’t an option. If he was lucky, his father wouldn’t even be on board one of those ships out there, only Izunia and the Admiral and --

Realization dawned on him like a slap to the face. His eyes went wide as he looked at Prompto, who was still fretting his lip and twisting his fingers around the spyglass. _Gladio. He’s worried about Gladio._ Of course, how could he have missed it? Noctis was hardly the only one with family on the other side, and there was little doubt as to who was at the helm of that naval vessel. If Clarus Amicitia chose to do battle with the Sagefire pirates, he would be choosing to fight his own son.

Noct, too, suddenly wondered just how Gladio was handling that news.

“Um. You know, I bet Ignis would prefer to hear about this straight from his new navigator. Come on, let’s go find him.”

Though Prompto’s smile was fleeting, he followed after Noct anyway as they headed together below deck.

  ~~~~~~~~

“More powder over here! Ostium, make sure those knots hold! And someone please explain to me why this wheel isn’t properly secured!” Ignis nudged at the base of the cannon in question with his foot, frowned at the way it easily rolled forward and back into place again with the rocking of the ship. That wouldn’t do, not at all. He was just about to bark another order to fix it when Gladio came rushing up holding several wooden blocks.

“Got it covered, boss,” he grinned, setting the blocks on either side of the wheel and stepping back to survey his handy work. “Hope you don’t mind we hacked up one of the tables in the galley for these.”

The pirate captain sighed, but waved a hand in front of his face. “It can’t be helped. How are the rest of the preparations coming?”

“Hmph. Good as can be, considering the crew you gave me to work with.”

“And the ammunition?”

Gladio used his forearm to wipe the sweat from his brow as, looking around, he took visual stock of their supplies. Each cannon was positioned at an opening in the side of the ship, the barrels aligned perfectly so they could be loaded and fired quickly in a fight. Next to each one was a stack of heavy, iron balls, black and rusting in places, enough for maybe four or five reloads, no more. “Depends on how many ships you want us to sink.”

“None, if we can help it.” As he spoke, Ignis stroked his fingers over the smooth, dark surface of the nearest cannon. Gladio nearly started to laugh at the joke - until he caught sight of his captain’s expression and realized he was being serious. “We’ll engage the enemy if they attack first, but the goal is to slow them down, not _take_ them down.”

“Hey,” came his rough voice. Low enough not to be overheard by the crew working around them, but still forceful enough to be frightening to anyone else. “You got all these men fired up, thinking we’re going into another battle. _‘Fight at sea, die at sea’_ \- you remember who used to say that?”

“I did,” Ignis answered cooly.

“No, _Sagefire_ did. He was a hero to these men. He wouldn’t have turned tail and run - _twice_ \- from these bastards.”

Green eyes flashed as Ignis’ voice rose into the air. “Must I remind you, Gladiolus, that your father is among the _bastards_ you’re seemingly so eager to slaughter.”

“ _Tch_. At least he and I know what side we’re on.”

“And I’m on the side of survival.” Ignis moved on again, knowing full well that even in his anger his first mate would follow along. He took a moment to inspect a line of rope in silence, then passed it back to Gladio to be rebraided. “This is a fight that we will not win with brawn alone,” he explained. “I have a plan, but it requires us to make a tactful retreat.”

Gladio fell quiet, sullen. His fingers itched for the weight of a sword, a knife, a gun - anything. And he knew much of the crew felt the same. They would continue to follow their captain’s orders even if he led them away from glory and gold, but only for so long. “ _Survival_ ’s not part of the pirate’s code,” he muttered, yanking the loose strands of the rope apart. “It’s not old age and retirement the men want, y’know.”

“Do you speak for yourself, too, then?” Gone was the flash of anger in Ignis’ eyes, replaced by something softer as he turned to his friend and sighed. “Are you so eager to throw your life away even now that you have someone worth living for? Or worse - would you be willing to put Prompto in harm’s way just to quell your bloodthirst?”

“I --“

“Noctis means more to me than all the treasure in the world, Gladio. I will not risk losing him, not here, not like this.”

Amber eyes fell to the floor as Gladio hung his head. Of course Iggy was right, and _he_ had been blind and selfish not to have seen it sooner. Whether they had asked for it or not, Prompto and Noct were members of their crew now, would face the same dangers they charged headlong into - and there would be only so much he could do to keep them safe.

“Cap’n…. I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”

“Gladio, listen to me. Should my plan fail, gods forbid, and we lose this fight tomorrow….” Ignis’ expression tensed and he placed a hand over his friend’s where it clutched the rope. “Perhaps you should make the most of tonight.”

There were more words, heavier words, left unspoken in the space between them. But Gladio understood loud and clear. Lifting his head, meeting his captain’s gaze, he offered his appreciation in the form of solemn nod. “Yes, sir.”

“Iggy! U-uh, Captain!”

Speak of the devils. The pair turned in time to see both Noctis and Prompto making their way over crates and piles of rope toward them. In one hand, Prompto clutched a spyglass - in the other, he held onto Noct’s wrist.

At the sight of them, Ignis felt the tightness in his chest unravel as quickly as a knot underwater. “Ah, you have news?"

Prompto was the first to step forward. He shot Gladio a longing look that literally no one with a pulse could have missed, then bowed his head to his captain. "We saw them, sir. Three ships, gaining course."

"Three? Are you certain?"

But Gladio couldn't hear the rest. Before Prompto could articulate an answer, the first mate was being pulled away by two firm hands on his upper arm and a very determined-looking Noct. "Quiet," the younger man warned him under his breath, not releasing his grip until they were out of sight - and earshot - of the others.

"You could’ve asked," Gladio said, rolling his eyes and straightening out his shirt sleeve.

Noctis mirrored his annoyance. "Like you'd ever let me give you orders. But this isn't the time. We need to talk."

"Good," came the immediate response, and Noct was surprised to see that Gladio was serious. "Because I've got a favor to ask."

  ~~~~~~~~

Prompto smiled at the thick, warm fingers curling around his palm. Another hand, familiar as it brushed over the back of his neck, guided him forward, steady, slow.

“Can I open my eyes yet?”

“Not yet. Keep ‘em closed, no peeking.” There was a subtle kiss pressed to the curve of his shoulder and then Gladio was urging him on again. Up some stairs, which creaked beneath their every step, and through a door. The warm night air awaited him on the other side, as well as the strong scent of the sea and the crashing of the waves against the side of the ship. Prompto could guess that they’d come out onto the deck - but he was still left clueless as to the reason why.

“Okay, _now_ can I open them?”

A chuckle. Gladio’s fingers ghosted up the length of his arm to cup his cheek, gently tilting Prompto’s face in the right direction before granting him permission at last. “Yeah, now.”

When Prompto blinked open his eyes and immediately went stiff against Gladio’s chest, the pirate worried he’s done something wrong. He worried Prom wasn’t pleased with his surprise, and that listening to Noctis had been a terrible idea after all.

But then the blonde began moving again, his hand wrapped tightly around Gladio’s wrist as he dragged him over to the makeshift table set up near the center of the open deck. It was little more than two crates stacked together, flanked on either side by overturned barrels in place of chairs, but it was the objects _on_ the table that set the mood - a bottle of wine, dusty but unopened, two mostly-clean glasses, and a single, long candle burning in the middle of it all.

“Did you...make this?” he managed to ask at last, running his fingers over the edge of one of the barrels.

"Yeah. Well, Noct helped a bit. Unless you don't like it, then it was all his idea."  

“I love it, it’s -- “ Prompto stopped, his words trailing off in favor of turning around and eyeing Gladio with suspicion. “What’s it for?”

“No questions ‘til you’ve tried the wine,” came the response. Gladio grinned and moved to pull out one of the barrels, gesturing for Prompto to have a seat before sliding him up to the table. It was the most gentlemanly thing he had ever seen Gladio do, and it made his head spin for a moment. Yet he kept his curiosity in check, as promised, even when Gladio took the seat across from him, popped open the cork on the bottle, and began to pour them each a glass of dark wine.

It...wasn’t great. Prompto had to admit that he wasn’t really a fan of wine in the first place, and this stuff tasted like it had come from a leaky cask at the bottom of a sunken ship. He swallowed down two sips out of politeness (Gladio chugged his first glass and instantly began pouring a second) before folding his fingers on the table and staring expectantly across at the pirate.

Gladio stopped mid-sip. Catching Prompto’s gaze on him, he cleared his throat and lowered his glass to the table, leaned a little closer into the candlelight and reached out to lay a single hand atop the blonde’s. “Surprise. It’s a date.”

“A...date?”

“Yeah. Just you and me, under the stars. I could start singing if you want some mood music.”

Prompto laughed, the absurdity of the situation finally getting the better of him. Here they were, on a pirate ship in the middle of the sea, being chased by three warships and a couple of very pissed off fathers, and Gladio was thinking about a serenade. As touching as it all was, Prompto wasn’t sure he really grasped the importance of it all in that moment.

“Gladdy, you’re sweet. Really,” he smiled, shaking his head as he took Gladio’s hand between his own. “But I don’t need any of this stuff. Just being with you is enough for me.”

Broad shoulders drooped. “...You don’t like it?”

“I do like it, trust me.” He got to his feet then, circling around the stacked crate table until he was standing at Gladio’s side instead. “But if I wanted fancy dates and someone to pour me wine, I would’ve flirted with a politician. I wanted _you_. You’re big and crass and loud and -- “

“Um?”

“Let me finish -- and honest and strong and charming in your own way. You’re already perfect without needing to impress me with things like this.”

Gladio was left admittedly speechless, both by Prompto’s words and by the way he was smiling down at him, his eyes warm and full of adoration. The pirate abandoned his voice in favor of hugging Prom close, leaning back for the blonde to drape himself across his lap. They kissed, slow and without intent, Gladio merely appreciating the taste, the smell, the sweet sighs of his lover’s mouth against his. And when Prompto moaned, pressed himself closer to deepen the act, Gladio indulged him for few more breathless moments.

But then he was pulling away. Prompto blinked his eyes open - the usual summer blue swallowed up in hungry desire - to stare down at him, the question unformed on his glistening lips.

A smile stretched Gladio’s features. “I know you said you don’t need anything fancy,” he started, the fingers of one hand leaving Prompto’s thigh to disappear somewhere inside his own vest. “And I guess that’s good, ‘cause I don’t really have much to offer.” When his fingers reemerged, they were holding a small box.

“Gladio, what is…?”

“Maybe if things were different I could do this proper, y’know?”

“Gladdy?!”

“A _real_ proposal, the kind you deserve, with good wine and a fine meal and a ring as pretty as you.”

He was holding it up then, pinched between his thumb and forefinger where Prompto could get a good look. The band was gold, thin and tarnished at the edges, and set with a small blue gem (a sapphire, maybe - Prompto had never seen a real one to know what they looked like). The entire thing shone in the moonlight, and he found himself unable to look away even as his breath faltered in his chest.

“Prompto?”

No answer, the air filled only by the sound of crashing waves and the pounding of the blonde’s heart between them.

“It’s sudden, yeah, I get it. Just...I don’t know how much longer we’ll have together,” Gladio continued softly. “But I can promise for the time we do have, I’m all yours. Prom, will you -- ?”

“Yes.” Blue eyes lifted, the edges blurred with unshed tears, yet he was smiling as brightly as the day they’d first met. “Yes, Gladio.”

Everything had fallen into place for him - the makeshift table, the awful wine, the looming battle and Gladio’s desperation to say his vows before it was too late. The ring (no doubt stolen, but hey, he was under no illusions about his boyfriend’s morally grey areas) was far too beautiful a gift for someone like him, he thought. After all, he was nothing but a tavern worker from a small port town, the bastard son of a whore, with childish dreams of romance on the high seas. Yet the moment he gave his answer, Gladio’s face had lit up as if he’d just received the greatest treasure in the world.

“Yes,” Prompto found himself chanting. “Yes, _yes_. Of course it’s yes,” he cried, arms finding their way around familiar shoulders and his heart soaring. “A million times yes.”

“Thank the gods,” came the pirate’s sigh of relief. Large fingers curled around Prompto’s chin, drew him in for the next kiss of many that evening. “‘Cause it’s definitely too late to return the ring.”

When Prompto laughed, it was against Gladio’s lips, and with tears of immeasurable joy streaming down his cheeks.

 

Someone sniffled. A hand whipped out, caught Nyx in the back of his head and shut him up fast. The dark-haired pirate turned, shot Libertus a glare, but Noctis didn’t see whatever happened next. His attention was already back on his two friends on the deck, watching as the plan he helped to create went off without a hitch. Gladio looked happy, Prompto looked happy, and any doubts or worries they’d harbored about the upcoming fight were expelled with a single promise.

While the others continued to swoon and oggle the couple from their position behind the mast, Noct took his chance to slip away from the crowd. Prompto and Gladio were taken care of - now there was only one other person he needed to ensure was making the most of his night.

 ~~~~~~~~ 

_...wind is in our favor as we push forward, though for how much longer I cannot guess. Their ships will likely be upon us by morning. Our last hope is to create a distraction and retreat, forfeit the Regalia if need be in order to reach the island safely. The enemy will not follow us into the caves of Ravatogh. Not unless Izunia is more foolish than I already fear. How desperate is his desire for the power of the medallion?_

_Perhaps only tomorrow will tell. Should my plan fail and our cause lost, then this will be the ship’s final log. Let it be known that our crew fought valiantly, and that we refused surrender even in the face of death._

_12 September M.E. 756_

_Ignis “Sagefire” Scientia_

_Captain of the Regalia_

Ignis sighed as he replaced his quill in its stand and scanned over the words still drying on the pages of the book. It was a weathered tome, having been used since the early days of the previous captain, Old Verstael Besithia, before him. In recent years, however, it had fallen somewhat out of use - Ignis found the task tedious, distracting even - and the log had remained untouched in place on its shelf. But under the circumstances, Ignis recognized the importance of recording what could very well be the final memories of the ship.

Outside, the sky was alight with stars and the waxing crescent of the late-summer moon. No doubt the crew would be growing restless on deck, drinking and testing their strength against one another in preparation for the upcoming battle. As their captain, Ignis would be obligated to warn them against exhaustion and hangovers. But as a man, he understood the urge to release some tension while they still could.

He, too, felt the weight of reality stiffening his shoulders. As he stood from his desk he rolled them out, felt a satisfying pop at the base of his neck, and sighed. Perhaps when Noctis returned he could help him relax with a light massage, assuming he wasn’t off getting drunk with the rest of the men. And even if he was, Ignis mused, picking up the log book and starting for the shelf where he would return it, having Noct close to him would be soothing enough.

The pirate’s thoughts were still wandering when he somewhat carelessly shoved the log between two other books on the shelf - and found it jammed halfway between them. He paused, tried again, but the book refused to slide any further back. Suddenly frowning, he drew the log back out, tucked it under his arm, and peered in at the cause of the inconvenience.

Several scraps of paper, yellowed and folded as they were, appeared to be caught in the space between the other books and the wooden back of the shelf. Half out of annoyance, half out of curiosity, Ignis reached in to pull them out into the light.

Letters. Three of them, to be precise, all surprisingly penned in the flowery script of a woman’s hand. And, Ignis noticed with a start, they were all of them addressed to _My Darling Verstael_.

Iggy was reading the first letter before he could stop himself:

 

> _The season grows late and I have neither heard from or of you since last you left. Five moons have passed; surely you know by now that I am with child. The midwife says it will be a girl, but I know in my heart that the life I bear is that of your son -- our son -- for I have seen his face in my dreams._
> 
> _I beg you to return to me, my darling. In Gralea, the nights grow ever colder, longer, and more dangerous. The would-be emperor has declared piracy to be an act of treason, and threatens death to any who so much as harbor a pirate in their home._
> 
> _How much longer will we be safe here?_

Green eyes flew over the faded ink on the paper in disbelief. This was the first he had ever heard of Besithia taking a wife, or even a mistress. In all the years he served under the madman, he’d also never once heard talk of a family waiting for him back in Gralea….

Intrigue gripped him, and he read on:

 

> _My love, the time has come to flee this place. Our son must not be born into the hands of the monsters who rule this once-great country. My grandmother has found us a ship, it will take us away first thing in the morning; to someplace called ‘Insomnia’ far outside of the Empire’s growing reach._
> 
> _I will await you there, however long it takes for you to find us. Please, Verstael. Come meet your boy when he enters this world. Until then, our love goes with you._

The last letter, still folded in half, was thicker than the rest. Ignis carefully opened it to reveal a picture, sketched in long-faded ink but still bearing the likeness of a beautiful young woman. Her hair was long, braided into a flowing halo behind her head and framing her narrow, sharp-featured face. Her lips were full and lush, her eyes round, bright even against the yellowed parchment on which they were drawn. Startlingly familiar. Ignis tore his gaze from the portrait to the final letter in his other hand:

 

> _Insomnia is quaint but peaceful. Already the people have shown me ample kindness, and I’ve been offered shelter at a local brothel until I can find more suitable shelter. Yes, I know what you must be thinking - but know that I am yours and only yours, my love. Times are tough, however, and I will do what I must for the sake of our unborn child._
> 
> _I admit I am troubled that I haven’t received word from you since last fall. Are you safe? Are you well? Hurry back to us. Once you return, we can start our family together just like we always dreamed._

The woman never once signed her name. He doubted she ever saw her lover again, either. Why, Ignis wondered in a mix of horror and amazement, had Besithia kept these letters if he never intended to return to the wife and child he’d left behind? How could she have kept faith even after it must have become clear they’d been abandoned? So many unanswerable questions. How long since these letters were written? Was she still alive, back in Insomnia with her son?

Would she know of Besithia’s murder, and that Ignis had risen to take his place?

A knock on the door broke through his heavy thoughts. Ignis shoved the letters (and the drawing of the woman) back onto the shelf and whirled around just as the hinges creaked open and Noctis appeared in the doorframe.

He was smiling. “Evenin’, captain.”

“Noct….” Despite the calm his lover’s presence delivered to the room, Ignis still couldn’t shake the letters - or the woman’s echoing voice - from his mind. Not even when Noctis closed the door behind him and sauntered across the room right into his arms.

“You should’ve seen them, Iggy. They looked so happy….” Pale fingers were already working open the fastener at the top of Ignis’ shirt. Noct pressed a kiss to his jaw, the side of his neck, the warmth of his body so close that the captain could feel it radiating through his clothes. Yet Ignis remained paralyzed to the spot.

_Who_? he intended to ask, but that sweet mouth trailing along the length of his jaw had other intentions. Ones that didn’t involve him speaking, or even thinking.

"Do you have time...," Noctis smiled against the side of his face, clearly not bothered that Ignis had yet to return his touch. "In your busy schedule tonight for me?"

"Noctis." In his gut, a twisting of longing for his eager young lover fought with the words in the letters that haunted his mind. Something important was there, he could sense it, something too familiar in the face of the portrait sketched on yellowed paper. Something that nagged at him, pulled at him the way Noct’s fingers pulled at his belt.

But the letters would be there in the morning. For now, there were clearly more _pressing_ matters which needed tending.

Ignis had Noct spun around and pinned to his desk before the younger man even finished undoing his pants. The sudden responsiveness drew a moan from his pale throat, and he rocked back against the weight of his captain behind him.

"I always have time for you, darling," Ignis purred, his gentle voice a sharp contrast to the way his hands were already working Noct’s body. Deft fingers hiked the younger man’s shirt up, revealing the smooth planes of his back and lean muscles flexing beneath. When Noctis arched his chest forward, his ass rolled across the front of Iggy’s hips, the perfect curves all but begging his pirate lover for attention.

And Ignis indulged. Noct’s pants were tugged halfway down his thighs in an instant, Iggy following them down to palm and squeeze at soft, exposed flesh. He heard rather than saw Noctis shudder when the warmth of his mouth joined his hands, his lips and teeth raking over pale skin with earnest.

"Oh, _fuck,_ Iggy!" Sharp teeth had just found purchase at the base of one mound, biting hard enough to pull a gasp from Noct’s throat and make his cock jolt between his legs. Ignis repeated the move on the other side, experimentally, and was rewarded with a low moan as Noct sank further down against the desk. " _Iggy._ "

"Spread your legs." Helping Noct to step first one, then the other foot out of his pants, Ignis tossed the garment aside in order to give his lover’s body full attention. He ran his hands up soft thighs, inside and out, all the while lavishing the darker skin of his balls, his perineum with kisses and nips. It wasn't long before Noctis was trembling all over, his knees and arms shaking with the effort of staying upright, and milky precum leaking freely from the tip of his cock. Ignis groaned, deep and low in his throat, at the sight.

_This_ , he thought as his tongue lapped over every inch of flesh he could reach, _is how a lover should be treated._ Adored, worshipped, unraveled strand by strand under a tender touch. Not abandoned. Not forgotten. Not left to the mercy of the cruel world as Besithia had done to the woman who had borne his child. No, she had deserved far better, and though nothing Ignis could do would change her fate (short of killing Verstael a second time, of course), he _could_ find other ways to make it right. He could love - and honor - Noctis, and in doing so honor the woman whose name he did not know, but whose tragedy weighed in his heart.

Above him, Noctis let out a cry. His body tensed and his cock twitched between Ignis’ lips, bursting forth a moment later to fill his throat with his sex. The pirate didn't give him so much as a moment’s reprieve.

Gathering his boneless lover up into his arms, Ignis kissed him, then scooped him up almost effortlessly. Noct’s naked legs dangled over one side of Iggy’s arms, his back curled against the other, and he stared at the pirate in awe all the way over to the bed.

Ignis made short work of undressing them both. Beneath his shirt, Noct once again wore his onyx medallion, the contrast of the dark skull against his moonlit skin catching Iggy’s attention and drawing him in. Pale fingers twisted in chestnut hair. Ignis’ mouth moved over Noct’s bare chest even as his fingers worked their way inside his body with maddening care.

Noctis clutched at the sheets, rolled his hips and urged Iggy to take him, to fuck him properly, but received only the teasing pressure of knuckles against his sensitive nerves. Even once he was fully hard again and close to tears, Ignis continued to take his time, to thrust and curl and scissor his fingers, to graze his teeth over trembling skin. To stroke and squeeze Noct’s cock in his fist until he was coming for the second time, voice a whimper as his orgasm was slowly milked out of him. Noctis at last collapsed back onto the pillow, utterly spent.

Yet Ignis was far from finished.

Outside the window of his quarters, the moon rose ever higher in the pitch black sky. On his desk, the candle had already burned down low, but the two lovers were awake together long into the night. When Ignis at last slid home into Noct’s tight heat, the younger man let out a whine - he was so sensitive, his body weak and vulnerable after his lover’s expert ministrations. He felt every touch, every stretch tenfold, so that Ignis’ cock within him pressed the very breath from his lungs. He gripped at strong shoulders, moved his hips in a rhythm like the slow rolling of waves against the ship. Ignis staved off his own desire until he could ensure that Noctis was brought to climax once more, then kissed him deeply as he chased his own passion.

At long last, their bodies spent, they fell together atop the ruined sheets. Noctis with his head on Ignis’ chest, panted breaths slowly giving way to the light snores of a deep slumber; and Ignis with his arms around his lover, holding him, watching him. Before sleep could claim him completely, he sent a prayer to each of the gods, and to Leviathan herself - _Keep him safe. Whatever may come, give me the strength to protect him._

  

He hadn’t even realized he’d fallen asleep. The next thing Ignis knew, he was awoken by a loud clap like thunder, and the crash of a cannonball tearing through the belly of his ship.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the next chapter: Ardyn Izunia is the last person Ignis wanted to catch him with his pants down.


	9. All Up In Flames

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Faced with danger on every side, Ignis must choose between his heart and his duty. Protecting Noctis, and the medallion he bears, is something he has vowed to do at all costs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize it's been forever since I updated this story, but it's fitting that it start and end during Ignoct Weeks lol. For Day 2, prompt "Burn the world for you" - I think it fits rather nicely :)

Dawn had yet to break above the distant line of the horizon. The sky was the same dark, clouded grey as the surface of the water, and roiled with a dangerous energy. It pulsed, thick, ominous, in the misty air, warning of danger. Warning of death.

For it was that a storm approached, not only from the air but from the sea, as well - three ships, their sails white but their flags all bearing the black and crimson crest of the Empire, closing in with the fury of a northeastern wind. Bringing attack without mercy, each and every cannon blast ringing out like a peal of thunder, spewing torrents of brine across the deck of the Regalia. 

Ignis raced from his cabin with Noctis in tow. The rest of the crew was already roused and scrambling to their battle stations, as orders were barked from somewhere near the helm.  _ Gladio _ , he guessed, but Ignis had no time to seek him out. His attention was drawn instead to the sight of the closest of the enemy vessels, one of Her Majesty’s naval frigates, now flying Niflheim colors and flanked on either side by the two larger warships. There, at the prow, near enough now to make out the crooked angle of this grin, was Ardyn Izunia. 

The Chancellor tipped the wide brim of his hat, and the mockery of it sent Ignis’ blood boiling. 

Another thunderous  _ boom _ and the Regalia rocked violently. Still clutching Noctis’ hand, Ignis rushed to the railing as the ship continued to shudder and groan. He grabbed for the wood and leaned over as far as he dared in an attempt to survey the damage, but he needn’t look far; already, the side of the Regalia was riddled with holes, jagged and crumbling around the edges from the force, the proximity of each attack. Nearer to the hull, the holes were quickly filling with sea water as wave after churning wave lapped at her side. 

Ignis’ gut tightened. Sturdy though his ship was, she was taking direct hits at too close a range - at this rate she would be sunk within minutes, or worse. He had to protect the Regalia - and her crew - at all costs. 

“Captain!” 

Whirling around again, Ignis came face to face with the flat of a deadly blade - and then Gladio on the other side of it. His first-mate looked grim, haggard, one arm holding his sword and the other hooked around Prompto at his side. 

Despite the thudding of his heart in his chest, Ignis managed to keep his voice even. “Any word from below?” 

Gladio frowned impossibly harder. “We’re taking on water, Cap’n, and  _ lots  _ of it fast. At this rate --” 

“I know,” he said quickly, gaze flicking almost imperceptibly to Noctis, who was watching the approaching ships with wide, blue eyes. “How are our guns?” 

“Almost ready. The men have orders to fire at will. But Igs.” Brows furrowed, amber eyes hard, it was clear what he was going to say even before he said it. “It’s too late for that.”

Ignis knew he was right. The enemy was nearly upon them. While the warships continued their assaut, it was the frigate bearing down purposefully and at full speed that worried him most. There was no mistake: they were going to be rammed, then boarded, and finally sunk. There would be no prisoners this time. 

Izunia would make sure of that. 

Head spinning, fingers tightening around Noct’s palm, Ignis was faced with a difficult choice. He had brought the eventuality on himself, really, the moment he allowed Noctis to remain aboard his ship. He had risked the danger, and danger had indeed found them. Yet while he would not put his young lover’s life in harm’s way, he also could not turn his back on his crew, his family. Ignis, the man, would give anything to follow Noct to the ends of the earth and beyond; but Sagefire, captain, pirate,  _ criminal _ , was bound ever to the sea. 

There was no question, of course, which path his duty required him to take, yet the words felt like tar in the back of his mouth as he tried to give voice to them. “Noctis. I need you to take Prompto and get on a longboat.”

Beside him, he felt his lover stiffen. “What? No way. I’m not running, I can fight.” 

“ _ No _ .” He tore his eyes away from the sight of Ardyn at the prow of his warship and turned in urgency to Noctis. “That is a risk I cannot accept. Please, you and Prompto must escape.”

Noct jerked his hand away from Ignis’, tears starting to brim despite his attempt to bite them back. “I’m  _ not  _ leaving you! Don’t send me away!”

“Noctis, you must! Listen to me,” he roared, voice almost swallowed up in the explosion of another cannon - from which side, he couldn’t tell. “Gladiolus and I will be fine. We’ll hold the enemy off as long as we can, then we’ll meet you again on that island.” 

The other three followed as he pointed to the south, where the shadow of a single, monstrous  mountain could be seen through the haze of early morning mist. “That is Ravatogh. Izunia’s men will not follow us into the caves there, you’ll be safe. Now please, go! Both of you!”

For a split second, the two younger men exchanged nervous looks. Then, before he could change his mind, Noctis was snatching up the front of Ignis’ shirt and pulling him into a hard kiss. “Find me,” he said, the words a breath against the pirate’s lips. 

Ignis let his eyes fall closed. “Always.” 

And then they were running, Noct with his fingers around Prompto’s wrist, dragging the blond with him toward the far side of the deck even as he called out Gladio’s name. 

When the fierce answered, his own voice was far too quiet for anyone but Ignis to hear. 

“Be careful, Prom.”

Then, in silence, he turned away, and together with his captain steadied his weapon to face the oncoming threat. 

Their time was up. Ardyn’s frigate had managed to reach to the Regalia at last. The Chancellor himself still stood fearlessly at the prow as the distance closed, and the full fury of the storm lashed out.

The two ships collided in a deafening explosion of wood and metal. The Regalia buckled under the force, cracked and split, and the deck began to tilt at a dangerous angle as she was lifted out of the water clear to the keel. Gladio grabbed for the railing at the same time as Ignis, but while they struggled for balance they could hear the terrified screams of the crew. Crates and barrels crashed down toward the open mouth of the sea; wood splintered underfoot, sending men tumbling off the deck in a flurry of limbs and curses and pleas. 

Yet it would take more than that to sink the Regalia.  

The frigate rocked back and with it Ignis’ ship dropped once more into the water. Her hull was damaged beyond repair, and the sprit of Ardyn’s ship jutted through the center of the deck like a spear, or perhaps a talon. Though she held, it was obvious that they were trapped; and as the gangplank slammed down onto the slick wood, Ignis knew they were desperately overwhelmed. 

Imperial troopers swarmed the deck without preamble, their swords and daggers held high as they cried out for the glory of their Emperor. The closest of the pirates were cut down instantly. Others rushed forward to meet their blades, and within moments the sounds of a fierce battle rose to fill the salty air. 

It was then that, at the top of the gangplank, the Chancellor himself appeared. He was flanked on either side by his Imperial generals, all of whom wore the  dark crimson uniforms of Niflheim, their gilded swords strapped to their belts. Only Ardyn seemed not to carry a weapon of his own, more intent on watching the fighting unfold than actually taking part. The sight of him sent both Gladio and Ignis burning with rage. 

“So,” Ignis growled low, clutching the handle of his blade tight in his white-knuckled grip. “Guess you’ll get to see the ‘legendary’ Sagefire in action again, after all.” 

Gladio’s smirk was dark. “Just like old times.  _ Fight by the sea, die by the sea. _ ” 

At that moment, dawn broke above the distant horizon, and a fiery light illuminated the green of the captain’s eyes. He lowered his stance, twirled his blade as expertly as if it were an extension of himself, and flashed his first-mate a sharp smile. “Neither of us will die this day, my friend.” 

Then, as one, they charged forward into the fray, their cries swallowed up in the clashing of metal upon metal.

Cutting, slashing, hacking; dodging and parrying blows from all sides as blood sprayed across the deck. Ignis lost sight of Gladio within minutes, but continued to push on through the mass of bodies, his rage locked on the golden-eyed Chancellor still poised at the rail. 

Meanwhile, it was Gladio who found his own mark first. Cutting through a group of Niflheim troopers near the main mast, he looked up from where their bodies fell to see a familiar set broad shoulders and a tri cornered hat. Back to him, it was the uniform that had caught and held Gladio’s attention: purple and pearl, the sigil of the Queen inlaid on the back of the coat. Even with the years and leagues Gladio had tied to put between them, there was no mistaking the striking figure of Admiral Amicitia _.  _

Clarus was distracted pulling his long sword out of the chest of a pirate he’d stuck to the mast. He dislodged it, letting the dead man slump to the deck, and was wiping the blade off on the side of his boot when Gladio approached. 

“ _ Father _ ,” the dark-haired pirate growled, low and deep in his throat. At the sound, the Admiral stiffened. “Guess it’s finally come to it, huh. You and me, a couple o’ swords, the open waves..” 

Gladio steadied his hand, boots sliding over hard wood as he began to circle the figure before him. The tip of Clarus’ blade dripped with blood, but otherwise he remained silent, still, unmoving. Not until Gladio had nearly rounded him did he at last, with a dark smirk, lift his scarred face.

The man staring out from under his father’s hat was  _ not _ Clarus Amicitia. 

“Surprise,” the imposter hummed, and lunged into a sudden attack.

Gladio was caught off guard. Confusion swept through him as rapidly as the ice through his blood. Followed quickly by panic and then a sudden, unstoppable rage. “Who the  _ fuck _ are you?” he roared as he threw his weight behind his weapon in a parry. The man who was not Clarus side-stepped, and a well-aimed slash had Gladio jumping back out of the way of flashing steel. 

“I’m your opponent. Or hadn’t you noticed?”

“Where’s the Admiral?!”

“Are  _ you  _ the Amicitia boy, then? Seems treacherous blood runs in your family.” The man feinted to the left, barely missing Gladio’s leg as his blade swung through the air. Again and again, driving the pirate back in his haste to block his blows. Every motion was skilled, unexpectedly fast for one wielding such a heavy sword. He fought well, like a man who had seen his fair share of war, and who thrived on killing. 

But Gladio was a pirate, and pirates had never been known for fighting fair. After several close blows left him with his back pressed against the mast, he was forced to get resourceful. When he man’s sword came down again, Gladio twisted quickly out of the way, letting sharp steel sink into the wood behind him. In the same moved, he sliced his own blade through the sail rope lashed to the base of the mast. The heavy ends came apart, and he whipped one around the hilt of the man’s sword. The second he let go, the rope went taut, and the sword was pulled both from the wood and the man’s hand to fly across the deck. 

Suddenly finding himself unarmed, the man’s demeanor shifted. Smirk falling into a grimace, he spread his hands out to the sides, took a step back in what appeared to be a gesture of surrender. Gladio, however, closed in. Lowered the tip of his own blade to the man’s throat to bite into the flesh there. “Last words, so don’t waste ‘em. Where is my father?”

Beneath the brim of Clarus Amicitia’s hat, steel-green eyes burned with a dark hatred. “There’s no place in the Great Empire for traitors.”

“My father wasn’t a traitor.”

“He harbored an outlaw for a son, defied a direct command in order to protect him.” Thin lips twisted in a cruel smile. “The Emperor doesn’t stand for such disloyalty among his ranks.”

When Gladio pressed forward, the tip of his sword broke skin, sent a trickle of dark, red blood trailing down the man’s neck. “Clarus Amicitia served the Queen, not that fucking clown on a false throne.”

“ _ All serve the Emperor. _ ” His eyes were piercing lights in the darkness. “Though I suppose not Amicitia. Not anymore. I should be thanking him, really, for the opening - I always did think  _ Admiral Glauca _ had a nice ring to it.” 

“ _ Bastard.” _

Gladio should have driven his sword into him right then, when he had the chance. Instead, in his rage, he reared back and snatched up the front of the man’s shirt, held him firm in his grasp while he coiled for the brutal kill. But that was his mistake. In the space between heartbeats, the man flicked his wrist and a thin dagger slid into place against his palm. Gladio didn’t see it coming until it was too late. 

The dagger bit into his side, a sharp, stinging pain just below his rib cage. Tore through fabric and flesh and muscle to lodge itself under the bone. Then, just as quickly as it had struck the blade retracted, and in its wake, a dark stain began to appear around the tear in his shirt.

Gladio stumbled. His boot caught on a tattered braid of rope, bringing him to one knee on the deck as he clutched his side. Pain shot through him like bursts of light, blinding, dizzying. He grit his teeth against it as he watched his enemy approach.

A peal of thunder and a cannon ball came streaking through the air like a bolt of lightning. Glauca was unfortunate enough to be in its path; it tore through him, a bullet through paper, exploding from his body to collide next with the mast. 

Gladio was sent sprawling to the deck in a shower of splinters and sparks. 

* * *

Ardyn was there, right in front of him. So close Ignis could almost smell his blood as he imagined spilling it all over the deck. All around them, bodies, death, the clash of swords, and the roar of the sea as wave after wave rocked the pair of ships.

But Ignis’ focus was singular. Very little mattered now - not the Regalia, not the screams of the battle, not even his own life. All that mattered was stopping Ardyn here, now, in the hopes of buying Noctis a chance to escape. 

“ _ Izunia! _ ” 

Above the cacophony of battle, the pirate captain’s voice carried like a ferocious gale. Golden eyes turned on him, zeroed in, and Ardyn smiled. A crooked smile, one full of malice and pride, and which darkened his face in shadows against the growing dawn light. 

“Ahh, the man of the hour, at last! Come to receive his reckoning at the hands of justice.”

Ignis scowled. The Chancellor was a man of sly words and pretty lies, but this was one fight he would not manage to weasel his way out of; no matter how sharp his tongue, it would be useless against the steel of a real blade. Ignis’ blade, which he was all too eager to use to carve up his face. “I see no  _ justice _ here, Izunia. Only a madman hellbent on a power he doesn’t fully understand.”

A heavy boot landed as Ardyn took a step forward down the slant of the gangplank. “Power. Riches. Eternal life. What’s to understand? You could have avoided  _ all of this _ ,” he sighed, sweeping his hands around at the scene of chaos, of blood spilled upon the broken ship. “If only you had given me what I wanted. But, alas, you’ve forced my hand.”

Ardyn had nearly reached him now, but Ignis held his ground.  _ Patience,  _  he told himself. An opening would come. “I would sooner die than see the power of the medallion fall to a monster like you.” 

“So you would keep that power for yourself? I think not. I think you no longer even have it.” A thoughtful smile as he curled his fingers around the hilt of a nearby sword, pulling it from the chest of a dead trooper with a wet suck. “Hm. You’ve given it to that boy, haven’t you? The pretty one who licks your boots. I do wonder where he’s gotten off to.” 

The barely visible twitch at the corner of Ignis’ mouth told Ardyn he had hit a nerve. With a smile, he edged closer. “Oh, and that precious son of a whore you keep around, as well. He, too, is someone I’d  _ very much _ like to get my hands on.” 

“You’re not going to be putting your hands on anyone.” No sooner had the words left his mouth than Ignis’s sword was flying. He’d seen his opening in Ardyn’s distracted stance, and took the opportunity to throw him off balance with a sudden - and strategic - attack. The Chancellor’s heel caught on the edge of the wooden plank, and he snarled as he met Ignis’ blade against his own mere inches from his face.

There were no more words. No banter, no insults hurled as Ardyn pushed himself up and into the fight proper. No more games; there were only two men, locked in a fierce battle to the death, their blades singing like sirens through the air. Back and forth they moved, circling each other wide before charging in again, and again. 

Izunia was  _ good _ . It became startlingly clear to Ignis that he had underestimated the Chancellor’s skills, as he was driven further back toward the center of the ship. Each blow that came for him was quick, powerful, as unpredictable as the man himself, and it was all Ignis could do to keep up with him parry for parry. A single misstep would cost him dearly. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Ignis caught sight of a cast iron lantern toppled onto its side on the wood of the deck. Oil leaked out around the frame, while flames still licked at the glass from within. The fire sparked an idea in the depths of Ignis’ mind. This was a fight he would not win on brawn alone - he needed an advantage, an edge. And fortunately he’d been reckless enough to try this one before. 

On the next parry, Ignis waited for Ardyn’s sword to catch against the hilt of his own before twisting down and away. In a whirl of fabric and steel, he let the weight of the Chancellor’s own attack carry him off balance, set him stumbling forward and giving Ignis all the room he needed. He dove toward the lantern, dragging his blade through the oil before bringing the pommel crashing down on old glass and freeing the flames trapped within. 

Instantly, as if summoned, they leapt from their confines to lick their way up the length of his weapon. Hot, bright fire clinging to deadly steel. Ignis twirled the flaming sword once, twice, then turned his sights back on Ardyn just in time to see the amusement drain from his face.

“So  _ that’s _ why they call you Sagefire,” he sneered, golden eyes glowing in the light of the flames. “How cliche.” Then with a cry he was attacking again, bearing down on Ignis as if the fire only fueled his own rage.

But while the two fought their way across the deck, the larger battle continued to wage around them. The pirates were losing, outmanned and overpowered by the army of troopers in their coats of black. For every Niff the Sagefire crew took down, two more rushed into the fray, an endless onslaught that left them weary, both in body and in spirit. To one side, they watched as their captain strained under Izunia’s attack; on the other, the sight of Gladio, _ fierce, proud Gladio, _ falling to his knees before the Admiral left them shaken, hopeless. Around the remaining fighters, the ring of enemies tightened, and began to close in. 

It was then that thunder of the final cannon blast echoed out across the waves. Pirates and troopers alike watched, frozen, as the round slammed through the center of the main mast, raining shards of wood and metal down onto the deck. There was a _ creak _ , followed by a rumbling groan, and the telltale snapping of timber as the mast began to fall. 

“Abandon ship!” someone cried. “Out of the way!” 

Chaos broke. As the sails caught, tangled, tore through rope, they moved to block out even the darkened sky above. Too late Ignis turned to see the massive wooden pole crashing down towards him. Too late did he notice Ardyn whirling away in a flurry of sleeves and curses. Too late did he make out the figure of Gladio, crumpled and bloodied, as the base of the very mast that fell. 

Instincts took over. His blade, still burning, hit the deck and he was running, running, ignoring the sound of flames catching oil and roaring to life behind him as his legs bore him ever forward. He called out his friend’s name as he reached him, and with every ounce of strength he could muster lifted Gladio to his feet. Pulled him out of the way just as the mast came down like the mouton of a guillotine, crashing through the deck and tearing into to the hull of the ship below. 

The force of it swept those still on board off of their feet. Ignis struggled to drag Gladio, bleeding and lumbering, toward the ruined railing of the Regalia’s port side. 

“Captain.” Gladio’s voice was weak, questioning as together they peered over the edge into the dark waves below. “You sure?” 

For a brief moment, Ignis hesitated. Glanced over his shoulder to take in the sight of his burning, broken ship, the bodies of the dead and dying strewn across the deck, and in the midst of it all, Ardyn Izunia stepping toward them out of the flames. 

There was nothing left for them here. 

Gripping his first-mate tight, he threw them both over the edge and into the waiting arms of the sea. 

* * *

The sun had been lost behind the clouds. Rain lashed and winds blew, yet despite their efforts the half-sunken bones of the Regalia continued to burn with the ferocity of a funeral pyre.

From where he watched, bobbing amidst the waves halfway between the ships and the volcanic island behind him, Ignis ached. He ached for the loss of his crew, for the lives thrown away in a selfish fight. He ached for the Sagefire legacy, which burned as surely as the charred, blackened wood of his precious ship. He ached for the sacrifices made that day. 

But while they stung at the backs of his eyes, he did not regret the choices he’d made. Beside him, one arm slung around his shoulders for support, Gladio was still alive, and somewhere, with luck, Noctis and Prompto would be, too. For them, he had to carry on. 

The swim to shore was difficult. His limbs were heavy, and he was burdened with Gladio’s extra weight as the dark-haired pirate grew more pallid, more strained. Ignis feared that the staggering amount of blood seeping from his side and into the water would attract sharks - he’d seen it happen before - but at least in that, luck was in their favor. 

Or perhaps it was simply that the commotion of the clashing ships had drawn the predators instead, calling them to feast on the casualties of war.

It was their saving grace. Ignis collapsed onto the shore at the base of Ravatogh, letting his exhausted limbs sink down into the rough sand. Beside him, Gladio coughed, sputtered, the seawater tinged red as it seeped from the corner of his mouth, yet his eyes were focused, clear as amber in the dawn light. 

But Ignis knew they couldn’t linger. Despite the ache in his limbs he pushed himself up again, slipped only once in the sand before he managed to get Gladio to his feet, as well. They picked a direction, and together started down the beach. 

Not long after, they came upon the first footprints. Barely visible in the crest of the tide, but further up they grew deeper, trailed further up the beach toward the trees and rocks which lined the shore. It looked as if the tracks had been hastily brushed over in places, and Ignis’ heart hammered in his chest as he followed them - right up to the edge of the forest where a longboat had been buried under a covering of branches and leaves. A very  _ familiar _ longboat, as it had once belonged to the Regalia. 

If it was here, then that meant….

“Prom.”

Gladio’s voice was haggard, and he clutched his side tighter with each step. Yet it was without hesitation that he dove into the trees to pick up the trail again. “They went this way! C’mon, Igs, keep up!” 

Green eyes flashed. A final glance back at the plumes of black smoke rising from the distant husk of his ship - and then Ignis, too, was rushing forward, hoping to the gods and fates alike that Noctis was safe. 


	10. Hot on the Trail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ignis and Gladio plunge into the caves beneath Ravatogh in a desperate search. Meanwhile, Noctis and Prompto find their friendship blossoming at the most unexpected of times.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter happened by accident! My notes read for this entire scene, and I quote: "Iggy and Gladio meet up with N and P in the caves" DONE, yet somehow it turned into...all of this. Not that I really have the time to be writing extra scenes on top of everything else I should be working on, but, well. Here it is. The next bit will HOPEFULLY be done by tomorrow! (But if not, now you know why...)  
> Submitting it for Day 3 of Ignoct Week as a free prompt *dance*

Ravatogh was known as the largest, the oldest, and the most unpredictable volcano in the Southern Seas. Its last eruption had been more than a century prior, yet tales of the blast - which spewed ash and rock as far away as the shores of the Galdin archipelago - still struck fear in the hearts of most sailors. And indeed even a hundred years later, smoke continued to billow from the mountain’s peak, where a crater as wide as a city was said to roil and burn.

Ignis had been to the island more times than he could count. Decent folk kept their distance, which made the labyrinthian cave systems at the base of the volcano perfect for hoarding gold, jewels, rum caches, and other varieties of pirate treasure. They would also, he reasoned, serve as a natural maze should Izunia and his men choose to risk their lives in pursuit. Getting lost in the caves, which were hot, treacherous, and sometimes filled with a foul sulphur gas, could spell death for wayward trespassers. 

Yet as he and Gladio soon discovered, the footprints they had followed up from the beach led directly into these exact tunnels inside mountain. Somehow, Noctis and Prompto had found the entrance to the caves, and had decided that their best chance for survival lay within. The plan was both ingenious, and incredibly stupid. 

Outside the cave mouth, a narrow, high-roofed opening in the stone lined with dripstones in the shape of jagged teeth, Gladio stopped. The brisk pace of their climb up from the shore had left him light-headed, short of breath, and clutching his side where his shirt was stained all-but black with blood. He leaned back against the curve of the rock just as Ignis turned to him. 

“How bad is it?” his captain asked, voice even, hard. But Gladio waved him off. 

“Forget it, I’ll be fine. You gotta go after them.”

“Gladiolus.” Ignis’ sharp eyes pressed him into the rock. “I’ve lost too much today. I will not lose you, too. Show me.”

Against his better judgement, and biting back the pain, Gladio slowly relinquished his grip on his side. Ignis peeled away the darkened fabric of his shirt to reveal the wound there, a clean, thin cut, but one which ran deep. The saltwater had helped to stop most of the bleeding, but the skin around the wound was a dark, angry red. It looked painful, and if not treated soon, potentially fatal. The pirate captain’s mouth twitched into a frown. 

“Of all my men, you’re the last I would have expected to receive an injury like this,” he said, helping Gladio out of the rest of his damp shirt and tearing the fabric into strips. One by one, they were wrapped around his chest, tied into place in a makeshift bandage. 

The dark-haired pirate winced as his captain worked. “Yeah, well. I got -  _ ow! _ \- distracted.”

“A dangerous mistake.”

“My father’s dead.”

Ignis cinched the ends of the last strip together and paused. Despite the pallor of Gladio’s skin, there was a fire in his eyes that spoke of anger, sadness, regret. He had never been close with his father, even in the days when he’d trained under him as a recruit in the Royal Navy; Clarus’ position had afforded little time for his family, and living under his roof, with strict rules and a heavy hand, had left Gladio yearning for a freer life. After he’d left Insomnia in search of adventure on the high seas, communication between them had been almost non existent.

And yet Clarus was still his father, and for all of his faults there had been a part of Gladio that had always respected him. Had loved him. To learn that he’d never get a chance to tell him as much…. Well, Ignis understood how that could throw a fight. 

Clearing his throat, he offered Gladio the best words he could in the moment. “The Admiral was a good man. He would have wanted to see you survive this.” 

“I know.” He glanced down at the bandages on his side, pressed his fingers gingerly to the cloth covering his wound. “Guess I owe him that much, at least.” 

Ignis forced a smile as he laid his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Come on. We’ve got work to do.”

* * *

Prompto clung to Noct’s sleeve as they moved deeper into the caves. Everything about the place had him on edge - the darkness, the cramped space, the walls that seemed to be closing in tighter and tighter around them. His claustrophobia was bad enough, of course, but then there were the  _ noises _ . Deep, growling rumbles that echoed through the tunnels. Noctis explained that they came from shifting rocks at the heart of the volcano, but to Prompto they still sounded like the snores of a great slumbering beast.

One which he did  _ not _ want to accidentally wake up. 

Still, he followed Noct deeper through the caves and tunnel systems, listening for the faint trickle of running water in the distance. Prompto secretly hoped it was a way out, an exit on the far side of the mountain that would lead them back to the shore. If they were outside, he thought, it would be easier for Gladio and Ignis to find them. Because they were definitely coming, they'd promised. And he wanted to believe that a pirate’s word was worth its weight in gold. 

They would be fine. They would be safe. Gladio would come back to him. 

His fingers clenched tight enough to stop Noct in his tracks. 

"Hey, you okay?" In the dark of the cave, his blue eyes seemed swallowed up in black. “I think we’re getting close, hang on a little longer.”

“Noct?”

“Hm?”

Prompto chewed his lip, glanced behind them where the long corridor twisted out of sight. “Will they find us here?” 

Noct wasn’t sure anymore if he meant Ignis and Gladio, or Ardyn and his men. Neither, of course, did he have an answer for him. If the battle had gone in the Sagefire pirates’ favor, then Noct had no doubt they would be rescued eventually; Ignis had promised, after all. But if the Chancellor had won….

He didn’t want to think about that possibility. Instead, he offered a weak smile that Prompto couldn’t see, and squeezed his hand until he could feel the solid gold of the ring there pressing against his palm. “Everything will be fine. Trust me. We’re going to get out of here and then -- “

Whatever he had intended to say was drowned out by a sudden bone-rattling quake, one which shook the very stone of the walls and nearly knocked the two young men off their feet. The sound of it was deafening, the sound of rock and metal being shifted under the pressure of the earth, and surrounding them on all sides. Seconds stretched out like minutes as Noct and Prompto clung to one another, panic freezing their limbs, and then Noc was running, pulling the blond behind him as stones began to crumble down from above. 

“The mountain!” he shouted, through he knew Prompto couldn’t hear him over the roar. Bright, blue eyes stared back at him in terror, until they were both flying through the tunnel at breakneck speed, desperate to outrun the sounds of collapsing stone behind them. 

* * *

Ignis halted. With one hand, he helped to steady Gladio’s swaying form at his side. The other he pressed to the surface of the cave wall, and stilled his body to listen.

After a moment, the distant rumbling ceased. “Did you hear that?” he asked, turning to his companion. Gladio, brows furrowed, shook his head. “I think we’d best pick up our pace. Can you make it?”

“Don’t worry about me, Cap. Lead the way.”

He did worry, of course, but Gladio wasn’t the only one who needed his help. Later, they could take the longboat and row to the shores of Galdin, find a doctor to tend to his wounds. He was strong, he would survive; it was Noctis and Prompto who were in the most danger. Assuming they hadn’t already lost their way within Ravatogh’s winding tunnels, they were still at risk for pitfalls and cave-ins - as the rumbling he’d heard just then had made startlingly clear. 

Luckily, Ignis knew the caves as well as he knew every inch of Noctis’ skin. He soon had Gladio turning with him down a series of hidden paths, shortcuts which led them rapidly toward the heart of the mountain where he sensed the worst of the quakes had been. 

* * *

The way back was sealed off. There was no longer any sign a tunnel had even existed, only a wall of rubble where the mouth had been.

Desperately, Noct clawed at the rocks, pulled down the smaller ones in an attempt to clear the path, but his effort was futile. It did little but leave his hands and arms bloodied from the jagged edges of broken stones, and his eyes thick with panicked tears.  

Behind him, Prompto sat against the wall of the tunnel and rubbed his head. A knot was forming where a small chunk of stone had dropped into him from the ceiling, but he was otherwise unharmed. Well, physically at least. He worried his lip and bit back tears of his own as he watched Noctis struggle, the same fears, the same hopelessness a heavy weight in his gut. 

“Noct.  _ Noct _ , stop,” he said at last, voice small yet pointed enough to pull his friend away from the damaged opening. “It’s not working.” 

Frustration seeped through as Noctis spat at nothing in particular. “I  _ know _ that. But what else are we going to do? If we can’t go back, that means Iggy can’t get to us, either.”

“Maybe,” Prompto started, then faltered as he realized how ridiculous his own words sounded even before he spoke them. “Maybe they know another way through the caves.”

“ _ Maybe _ .” He fell silent then, slumping down against the wall in the space next to the blond. The collapsed tunnel left them with two choices: continue on down the path, and hope to find a way out and back to the beach on he other side; or stay put where they were, wait to be discovered or for another cave-in to trap them permanently. The choice was obvious to both of them, and yet neither Noct nor Prompto had made to move yet.

Since that morning when they had fled the Regalia on the longboat, they had been running. Running to shore, running to the cover of the trees where they watched Ignis’ ship crumble piece by piece to the Niflheim cannons. Running further inland where they’d discovered the entrance to the caves, and then running inside to seek shelter from the approaching storms. They hadn’t stopped running until that moment, when they found themselves lost and helpless beneath the mountain, and the true weight of reality came bearing down on them. 

Prompto slipped his hand in Noct’s again. Noct laid his head against the blond’s shoulder, and they sat together in heavy silence for several long moments. 

Then, slowly, hesitantly, Prompto laughed. “Did you ever think we’d be here? Not  _ here _ here,” he clarified at the incredulous look he was being given. “I mean out at sea, caught up in pirate battles and danger like this?”

“No. But when you put it like that, you make it sound pretty exciting.” Noct couldn’t resist a tired grin. “Did you ever think you’d be  _ engaged  _ to a pirate?”

Prompto held up his left hand, turned it so the gold of the ring Gladio had given him caught the faintest hint of light in the corridor. "Nope. I guess we both just got lucky, huh."

It was ridiculous. It was utterly  _ mad _ , but Noctis laughed anyway. Finding anything to be thankful for in a situation like this, when death chased them around every corner, was a feat no normal person could achieve. But here Prompto was, smiling at the ring on his finger as if the glint of gold had solved all his problems in the world. "Maybe you really are a pirate, after all," he grinned. 

A few more moments of rest lifted their spirits considerably, and soon they were back on their feet and moving forward again, hand in hand down the dark tunnel. 

It wasn't long before they began to hear a new sound - one suspiciously like the echo of voices along the cave walls. They exchanged glances, and with a mix of trepidation and hope began to creep closer, closer, until the voices were clear enough to make out individual words. 

"...hardly the time.  _ Must  _ you do that right this minute?" 

Noct’s eyes widened.  _ Ignis!  _

Another voice, gruffer, answered next. "When ya gotta go, ya gotta go. Or do you want me to ruin my pants, too?"  

Beside him, Prompto’s gasp was full of awe. "Gladdy…?  _ Gladdy! _ " 

Before Noctis could even find his voice, Prompto was charging on ahead, rounding the corner and practically shrieking at the sight that awaited him. There was Gladio, standing with his legs apart and his pants barely clinging to his hips, one hand to the wall to steady himself. The other had been carefully working his buttons open, but the moment he heard Prompto approaching he whirled around in surprise and delight. 

“Prom!”

“Gladdy!”

The blond threw himself at the pirate, neither man seeming to notice - or mind - the way Gladio’s belt and pants dropped to the floor as he moved to catch him. Their bodies twined, their lips met, and their surprise quickly melted into moans and sighs of desperate relief. Watching, Ignis was half-tempted to roll his eyes at the sight. But his own heart’s desire chose that moment to round the bend, and all annoyance was cast aside in the second it took to draw Noctis into an embrace. 

“Iggy!” 

“Noct--!”

_ The warmth, the scent, the feel of his lover in his arms;  _ as peaceful as a summer breeze, calm settled over Ignis. The tension that had dogged him with every step seemed to dissipate in an instant. Noctis was alive. Noctis was  _ here _ . 

He drew back until their foreheads were pressed together, and he could trace his fingers down the length of familiar arms. “How in the name of the Six did you find this place?” he breathed, voice the size of a whisper in the space between them. 

Noct’s eyes crinkled as he smiled. “For a pirate cove, it’s not all that well hidden.” 

A laugh, deep and rich, which faltered when Ignis’ fingers skimmed over a particularly bad scrape on Noct’s wrist. “Are you hurt? What happened? We feared the worst when we heard that cave-in and -- “

“I’m fine.” Plush lips brushed against his in reassurance. “Really, I am. How about you? Where’s everyone else?” 

In answer to his question, Ignis’ silence was enough. Noct’s eyes fell between them, then over to their friends. It was then that he seemed to notice Gladio’s makeshift bandages for the first time, and the way Prompto was shaking as he examined them for himself. There was blood, too - not much, but the cloth tied around his chest was stained a dark, inky black near the base of his tattoos. The effect might have been intimidating, if not for the lackluster greyness of his skin, or the weary smile he offered Prompto by way of explanation. 

“We’ve got to get him to a clinic,” Ignis informed them, adopting his most captain-like tone as he followed Noct's gaze. “Is the longboat still seaworthy?” 

Prompto, eyes glittering with unshed tears, nodded once. “Yeah, but the tunnel back is blocked. Unless...you know another way?”

“I do.” There were several other paths that would lead them to an exit, actually, assuming the tunnels were all still intact. The fastest would be to return the way he and Gladio had come. Ignis started to answer as much - but before he could open his mouth to speak, the air in the cave rippled, and the unmistakable  _ crack _ of a gunshot filled their ears. 

As one, the four whirled around to face the darkened expanse of corridor behind them. For several panicked, breathless moments, nothing happened. Then, slithering towards them like shadows along the walls, an off-key, too-familiar voice. 

“ _ To the mast nail our flag,”  _ it sang. “ _ Tis as dark as the grave _ .” 

“Izunia,” Ignis hissed under his breath. 

“Iggy? Iggy,  _ what do we do? _ ”

_ “Or the death which it bears as it sweeps o’er the wave.” _

The voice was drawing closer at an alarming rate. How? How had he found them? It made no sense, should be  _ impossible, he’d burned on that ship! _ Ignis’ mind raced as terror turned blood to ice in his veins. 

_ “I fight - ‘tis for vengeance - I love to see flow,”  _ the song continued, until Noct’s fingernails were digging into Ignis’ arm. Urging him into motion despite the heaviness of his limbs. 

“Run,” he whispered, and even Gladio was close at his heels as they flew together deeper into the mountain. 

From somewhere not far behind them, a chuckled echoed off ancient stone. “ _ At the stroke of my sabre _ ,” Ardyn sang. “ _ The life of my foe.”  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More about [The Pirate Song](http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/the-pirate-song.htm) he's singing ;)


	11. Gold, Blood, and Sacrifice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At the heart of Ravatogh lies an incredible secret - countless mounds of treasure, hoarded over the centuries by pirates from all over Eos. But gold isn't all that awaits Ignis and his friends beneath the mountain. The Fates, it seems, have one last story to add to the legacy of the Fearsome Captain Sagefire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow, by the grace of the gods, I finished this in time for Ignoct Week Day 4: prompt "Injury." 
> 
> Big shout-out to Cal for helping to proofread this! It's still rushed but that can't really be helped at this point, maybe I will go back and fix it up at a later date - sorry!!!

“What...is this place?”

Noct took a step past Ignis into the chamber. It stretched out before them like a single, expansive room, so large around that the walls on the far side faded into shadows, impossible to make out. The ceiling opened above them like the arches of a cathedral, and it was from a hole at the top that both light and water trickled down to fill the space.

But more breathtaking than the chamber itself was the _treasure inside_.

Littering the cave floor were mountains of more gold than Noctis could have imagined in his wildest dreams. Coins, chains set with sparkling gems; gilded crowns, coats, gauntlets, daggers and even shields; weathered chests overflowing with riches beyond count. Even the wealthiest banks in Altissia and Tenebrae couldn’t compare with the splendor that greeted them in that room, and for several moments Noct’s panic was forgotten in lieu of wonder.

“Black sails from as far away as the Cygillian Sea have been making berth here for centuries,” Ignis explained as he ushered the others forward into the treasure room. While the captain hardly spared the gold a passing glance, Gladio and Prompto couldn’t resist the temptation to reach out and touch, their eyes glittering. “My first trip here was nearly a decade ago, back when the Regalia was captained by a very different man. He horded his treasure fiercely, so much so that even I never learned where he hid his key.”

With a wry smile, Ignis gestured to a pile of gold set aside from the rest. There, half-buried in the coins and secured with a heavy iron lock, was the largest chest Noctis had ever set eyes on. Across the front of the wood were carved the initials ‘ _VB.’_

“How come no one’s ever tried to steal all this stuff?” he asked, genuinely perplexed. With so many pirates sharing this one trove, it was hard to believe the whole place hadn’t been looted a hundred times over.

But Ignis had an answer for that, as well. “Oh, there have been...attempts. Him, for instance.” Noct followed his gaze upward, where he noticed with a yelp the bare-boned skeleton impaled on the tip of a dripstone. “Stealing from other pirates is a violation of the Code. It is believed that to covet another captain’s treasure is to invoke the curse of the sea goddess, Leviathan. I’ve heard the curse is _rather_ unpleasant.”

His voice was stern, but Noct didn’t miss the amusement that passed over his expression as Prompto and Gladio hastily tossed all of the gold they’d been holding back into the piles.

A thought occurred to Noctis then. He put a hand to his chest, where he could feel the hardness of the medallion Iggy had given to him hiding just beneath the fabric of his shirt. Since putting it on - all those nights ago and half a world away - he’d grown so accustomed to its weight that he’d nearly forgotten he still wore it. But now, surrounded by so much treasure and with talk of stealing and curses, he couldn’t help but wonder if the same tales applied to a thing like this.

“Do you believe in curses, Iggy?”

Green eyes roved over him. “Of course not, I --” The rest of the response hung ready on Ignis’ lips, unspoken. He had just he caught the way Noct’s fingers brushed over something under his shirt, and sudden realization hit him hard enough to take his breath away. “You mean the medallion?”

“What medallion?” Curiosity piqued, Gladio limped over to them, Prompto supporting him at his side. “You’re not talking about that ugly thing we snatched from Cartanica are you?”

Noct shot him a look. “It’s not ugly.”

“It _is_ ugly, and it’s also very, _very_ cursed.” Amber eyes turned on Ignis again, glaring out at him from dark circles. “You promised you were going to get rid of it.”

“I _did_ ,” his captain snapped in response. “I gave it to Noctis for safekeeping. How was I to know he was going to sneak back onto our ship?”

“You gotta be kidding me.” His laugh was short, rough. Angry. “Now it all fuckin’ makes sense.”

“What’s going on?”

“Noct….” Between them, Ignis looked uncharacteristically nervous. His mouth opened and closed several times, as if unsure quite how he could explain. “That medallion is more than a simple necklace. It has a...history.”

“It has a _curse,_ ” Gladio hissed again.

“Curse? Iggy, what kind of curse?” Suddenly, Noct felt the weight of the chain around his neck all too clearly. Why would Ignis have given him a cursed necklace? It didn’t make sense.

But Ignis continued with a sigh. “They’re only stories. In some parts of the world, that medallion is known as the Eye of the Infernian. Legends say that the rubies are astral crystals, containers made by the gods to trap souls.”

“Trap... _souls_ ?” Noctis clutched his fingers around the onyx amulet beneath his shirt. “This thing has _people’s souls_ in it?!”

Even Prompto looked disgusted by the thought. He crinkled his nose as he turned to Ignis. “Did you seriously give your boyfriend a bunch of ghosts as a birthday present? That’s weird even for a pirate.”

“They are _stories!_ ” the captain huffed, though his cheeks had taken on a noticeable red tint. “Fairy tales! I would never have given Noctis something I thought might actually harm him!”

“And yet,” came Gladio’s growl. “That damned thing is the reason we lost our ship. Our crew. Maybe _you_ don’t believe in curses, but the Niffs sure as hell do. That’s why they’re after us, isn’t it? _Isn’t it?_ ”

The accusation fell like a hammer between the four of them. Unable to refute him, Ignis dropped his eyes to the slick stone at Gladio’s feet, while Noct stared on in disbelief. “Are you serious…? _This thing_ is all they’re after? Why didn’t we just give it to them in the first place!”

“Noctis, you don’t understand -- “

“You’re right, I don’t!” He shook his head, shoulders trembling as he tugged the medallion off and held it out for his lover to take back. “Just give it to Izunia so we can escape!”

“It isn’t that simple.” Ignis’ voice was desperate, pleading. “The medallion’s power _must not_ fall into the wrong hands. If it did - if Niflheim were to use it for their own purposes - the whole world could be in danger.”

Blue eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed again. Confusion, suspicion, distrust. “So you _do_ believe the stories. Which means...you expected this to happen. All of this. You knew they would come after us.”

“Yes.”

Noct stood, frozen, caught halfway between wanting to chuck the medallion across the chamber, or directly into Ignis’ face. He settled for shoving it into his hands instead. “Once a selfish pirate, always a selfish pirate,” he fumed, and stalked past him in the direction he could only assume to be a way out. Gladio, still leaning with one arm around Prompto’s shoulders, glared as they turned to follow. Only Ignis was left standing there, glaring down at the dark skull-shaped amulet in his hands and cursing the day the thing came into his life.

_They were right._ Of course they were. Had he been more careful, had he been more _honest_ , then perhaps they wouldn’t be stuck crawling through the underbelly of a volcano. Perhaps his crew and his ship would still be intact. Perhaps they wouldn’t be running from the dangerous greed of a madman, one who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.

Then again, had he not come across the medallion before Izunia, perhaps the world would have already come to ruin.

“Oh, dear. It appears I’ve arrived in the middle of a lovers’ quarrel. I do so hate to take sides.”

_Speak of the devil._ Ignis whipped his head up to see Ardyn already striding towards him. In one hand, he held his dagger, drawn and glinting at his side. In the other, he held a skull - human, plucked no doubt from one of the unfortunate souls who’d died in the caves. Both were turned towards Ignis as he approached. 

They had wasted too much time. Now there would be nowhere to run.

“Izunia.” He clenched the medallion in his palm and grit his teeth. “ _Enough_. Stop this madness.”

“After all the trouble I’ve gone to hunting you down? I think not.” Bright, yellow eyes played over him, took in the sight of his tattered clothes, his tousled hair, his white knuckles as they gripped the onyx tight. And he smirked. “How kind of you to keep it warm for me.”

From somewhere behind him, Ignis heard shuffling. A clattering of coins to the stone floor, and then boots drawing rapidly closer. He hoped to the gods it wasn’t Noctis, but he also didn’t dare tear his focus away from the Chancellor’s blade, not yet.

Ardyn continued as his gaze lifted past Ignis’ shoulder. “That story you shared about the Eye was fascinating, _captain_ , but not entirely accurate. Time has a way of twisting the truth, you know. Embellishing it with lies meant to capture the imagination. _‘Lost souls trapped in the astral crystals; a eternity of torment for all who seek the Infernian’s power.’”_ He smiled again, and despite himself Ignis shuddered at the sight of it. “I’ll admit, for horseshit it has quite a ring to it.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth that several things happened in mind-boggling succession. A sword appeared in the periphery of Ignis’ vision, the blade rusted and worn from years left abandoned in the caves, but he turned just in time to see Noctis thrust it forward. The tip sank into Ardyn’s chest - he hadn’t even bothered to dodge it - deeper and deeper with all of the younger man’s weight thrown behind it. Noct was shouting something, Ignis couldn’t catch what, and then a pair of hands were on him. _Prompto,_ his blue eyes wide, tugging him away to safety even as the hilt of the sword met bone and Ardyn was sent staggering back.

But only for a moment.

Though the attack, his smile had never once faltered. He’d seen it coming, and he’d stood his ground, _allowed_ Noctis to step foolishly into the trap he’d set the moment he’d entered the chamber. In a heartbeat, the skull in his hand was crashing to the ground, and in its place he snatched Noctis up instead.

The dagger was pressed to his throat before Ignis could even cry out in warning.

“ _Noctis!”_ he cried, too late, now watching helplessly as his lover fought against powerful hands. The sword still jutted from Ardyn’s chest, but it hardly seemed to bother him. _Impossible._ Ignis’ heart thudded wildly, panicked as a bird trapped inside of his own rib cage. _How! How can he still stand?!_

It was as if Ardyn could read his thoughts. He raised his voice again over the sounds of Noct’s struggling, continuing where’d left off before being so rudely interrupted. “There are a few minor details I may have forgotten to mention in our last meeting. The Eye, you see, is quite precious to me. It belonged to me once, long ago. Before it was snatched away by a foul-smelling pirate with less loyalty than most.”

He turned then not to Ignis, but to Prompto at his side. The blond blinked, shrank down behind his captain’s shoulder, yet still couldn’t escape his piercing gaze. “A man you _all_ know quite well, I imagine. Old Besithia, traitor to the flag from which he fled, dead now I hear. Fitting that his lust for power should end here, with the two of you - his successor, and his heir.”

_An image; a woman, fair haired and with haunting eyes, stared out from time-yellowed parchment. Letters that spoke of a child, a son who never knew his father’s face._ It was too much of a coincidence, wasn’t it? Or perhaps the fates had brought Prompto here for a reason. Ignis watched the words sink in as blue eyes flashed in realization, in awe.

The lost child of Verstael Besithia, the heir to a pirate legacy, had been right under his nose and he’d never even noticed.

Yet there were more urgent matters at hand. Ardyn still held Noct tight against his side, the sword that stuck through his body a testament to the hopelessness of the situation. Ignis held the medallion out in front of him. Left Prompto behind him in a daze as he began to walk, slowly, each foot careful, cautious, aware of the sharp blade still pressed to his lover’s throat.

“Let him go, Izunia. I beg of you, don’t harm him.”

“Iggy, no --”

“You can have what you want. But please, _please._ Release him.”

A chuckle, arrogant and sharp as the steel in his chest. “Now you beg for mercy? How quickly the mighty fall. I’ll ask you to place that on the ground just there, not too close. Funny thing about souls,” Ardyn sighed dramatically. “Once you sell them to the devil, they tend to hold it against you for the rest of eternity.”

The second Ignis placed the medallion on the stone, it began to move. Shaking, twitching, lifting up into the air slowly and sending the pirate captain sprawling onto his back in surprise. He watched, wide-eyed, as the black skull spun to face him and the rubies brightened almost as if in fear. Then Ardyn was tossing his dagger aside, instead holding his leather-gloved hand out towards the floating Eye. Between them, the very air rippled with power, with magic, and despite its efforts the medallion was drawn inescapably towards his grip.

“Welcome home, my sweet,” Ardyn purred with a crooked grin. “I’ve got a lovely treat all warmed up for you.”

Ignis wasn’t sure what exactly forced him into motion. Maybe it was the medallion, pleading to him in low, desperate hums. Maybe it was fear of seeing the power fall into Ardyn’s hands after all, an unknown evil mere seconds away from being unleashed upon the world. Or maybe, more than anything, it was the way the Chancellor stroked his fingers over the curve of Noct’s throat, his tone mocking as he offered up his soul to the astral crystals.

The pirate captain’s feet were moving before he’d even finished formulating his plan.

As he reached for the medallion, the air around his skin crackled with an angry energy. It felt thick, pushed against him in a rage, and yet his momentum carried him forward. Closer, closer, until he could curl his fingers around the onyx skull, pluck it from just beyond Arydn’s grasp.

Noct shouted something. A warning, or in terror. Ignis thought he knew why. Everything burned, every inch of his skin felt alight with magic; bolts of lightning pricking him unseen and yet somehow real.

It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. He understood what had to be done as clearly as if the medallion had spoken the words directly into his mind, showing him the past, the present, and the futures he faced with his choice --

_Yellow eyes, a soul as black as shadow, the blood price paid to escape from Death, but promises were not kept;_ Ardyn’s soul was the one trapped within the crystal.

_Time moving slowly, so slowly, waiting for him to decide._

_Darkness. A world of Ruin. The very gods enslaved by a man no longer bound to the mortal plane._

_Or darkness amidst light. Noctis, smiling, free. A sacrifice borne of a love strong enough to dispel the evil._

Ignis didn’t hesitate.

The seconds caught up in the space of a heartbeat. Across from him, Ardyn’s face twisted in rage, and Noctis’ eyes, bright, shining pools of blue, watched on helplessly as Ignis threw the medallion to the hard stone, face down. It struck the rock, and like glass the two ruby-colored crystal eyes smashed to pieces. Shards scattered. Ardyn cried out, but he wasn’t fast enough to escape the medallion’s rage. Countless shadows poured from the broken sockets of the onyx skull, rose into the air and then shot towards him, surrounded him in a dizzying flurry of howls and screams. Pushed him to the ground and dragged him, flailing, clawing, across the stone floor; towards the swirling mass of black that had begun to open up beneath the broken medallion. A pit where the Infernian, Ifrit himself, waited to pass judgement.

Ardyn’s screams were at last swallowed up in shadows.

Yet Ignis hadn’t seen a thing.

As the magic in the air subsided, he felt Noctis reach for him. Heard the panic in his voice as he called his name, again and again. _It’s alright_ , he wanted to say, smiling through the blood that streamed down his cheeks. _You’re safe now, my dearest Noctis._

All that managed to pass his lips before unconsciousness settled over him was a single breath, barely above a whisper.

_“Noct.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uh. There's one more chapter. An epilogue, if you will. It'll be happier, and tie up all the loose ends. Hopefully....


	12. Legends Never Die (Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With every end, a beginning is born. As the legend of Sagefire draws to a close, so must a new Captain rise to take his place among the high seas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At last! The conclusion to Captain Sagefire's tale of love and sacrifice ;3; Written for Ignoct Week 2018, Day 7 "Always"
> 
> Lots of PotC inspiration here, as well as some serious assistance from my darling friend Raya (Daiako) because words are hard sometimes. Dedicated to all fans of Ignoct and Promptio everywhere - may their legends never die.

 

Cries rang out across the deck. Cheers, shouts, a rhythmic thudding of heavy boots on wood as the flag was raised to the top of the mast. Unfurled by the winds, the stark white of the skull and crossbones against the dark, black cloth made for a powerful, fearsome sight.  _ Pirates _ .  _ Scoundrels and Knaves. Death borne of the seas. _

From down below, Gladio couldn’t resist a proud grin. The flag had been his own personal touch, the final piece of the puzzle after months of tireless work. Finding a fast, seaworthy ship had taken them halfway around the world and the better part of a year; putting together a crew, both from the remnants of the Sagefire pirates and fresh faces from taverns and pubs at every port along the way, had been even harder. But at last, with the raising of the sails and the summer winds at their backs, the _Calamity_ set off on her maiden voyage to the sounds of cheers and drunken song. 

If Gladio was being honest with himself, as he often was in recent days, he had missed this.  _ All  _ of this, from the spray of the salty sea on his face as it whipped across the deck, to the rowdy din of the pirates carrying through the ship. It was the life he’d left his home for, the life that had cost him his family, his father, his name; and yet through it, he had found so much more. 

His gaze followed the flap of the sails up to the helm, where a familiar tuft of yellow hair caught and held his attention. Prompto had changed a lot in the last year. He’d taken to wearing more clothing, for one, if only for the sake of his post, and his smile carried an air of confidence that always left Gladio breathless. Gone was the starry-eyed tavern boy who had snuck on board a pirate ship to chase his childhood dreams; in his place stood a man,  _ a captain _ , and the leader Gladio and the others had sworn to follow anywhere the waves should lead.

Prompto lowered his spyglass and blinked bright, blue eyes as his first mate approached. Grinned as Gladio swept him up in his arms and planted a warm, wet kiss to the side of his throat. “H-hey, what’s the big idea, big guy?” he half-laughed, half-squealed, weaving his arms around broad shoulders anyway. “I’m trying to run a tight ship here.”

“Plenty tight, if you ask me.” The rough edges of Gladio’s jaw brushed his neck, and Prompto squirmed against him. “Leave it to the men. You and me got celebratin’ to do.”

“Oh?” There was a playfulness in his tone, a knowing smirk as he felt large hands slide inside of his fitted white overcoat. “Maybe we ought to be celebrating in the  _ captain’s quarters _ ? Some wine, a proper bed - since we went to all the trouble of stealing it anyway.” 

Gladio chuckled. He could sense the others on deck turning to watch them, and from somewhere down below he heard Nyx whistle between his teeth. “Nah. I was thinkin’, how about for old times sake, we christen your new ship right here at the helm?” 

How could Prompto say no to an offer like that? His lover’s lips were already heating up his blood, doubling his heady excitement as the waves rocked them both toward lands untold. Countless adventures awaited them past the horizon, dangers, trials - and at the end, with any luck, a splendid treasure. For they were guided by a map, one which had taken as much effort to find as the ship upon which they now sailed. A map scribed in blood and gold, marking the location of a certain key buried an age ago, and signed, simply: “ _ V.B.”  _

But the key - and his father’s treasure - could wait. For now, Prompto was content to be kissed breathless against the wheel of the ship, his fingers tangling in a mass of dark, familiar locks. Upon one of them, the ring Gladio had given him glinted in the sunlight, bright and bold as their love; on display so that all might remember which pirate had first stolen Captain Quicksilver’s heart. 

Their passion quickly drew the attention of the others on deck. Some of the men (and one woman, for Aranea had signed on at the promise of guts, glory, and all the gold she could carry) even came up from the galley to watch the show. They jeered and whistled as Prompto’s coat was peeled off, broke out in filthy tavern ditties as Gladio’s mouth trailed down the length of exposed skin. Clutched each other and gasped in sympathy when Prompto threw his head back, overwhelmed by the heat of his lover’s mouth around hard flesh. 

It was the sound of his moans - untamable as his spirit - that followed the  _ Calamity _ out to sea. With them, the legend of  _ Quicksilver _ came to be born: a love story between a pirate captain and his fiercely loyal first mate. 

(Later, when tales of their exploits would be sung in taverns all across Eos, the size of Gladio’s cock may or may not have been exaggerated just a little. For entertainment purposes, of course.) 

 

* * *

 

Noct smiled as he watched the white sails pulling out to sea. The ship was beautiful, he had to admit. Not quite as impressive as the  _ Regalia _ , but he knew how much work Prompto and Gladio had put into finding her. And he was proud of them. He knew without a doubt that greatness lay in store for both of his friends, and while he envied them their adventures, he was also happy to have put that life behind him for good. 

Leaving the cliffs and the sight of the distant horizon, he wound his way back along the dirt path between the hills. Stopped here and there to pick sweet-smelling flowers from the side of the road, until he’d gathered a fair handful by the time he reached the front porch of the only house in sight. A small, simple cottage, painted in delicate blues and whites, and with lattice-work windows to let in the morning sun.

It wasn’t much, but it was more than Noct could have ever asked for and more, 

The scent of baking bread greeted him at the door, and he stepped inside with a private smile. He snagged a glass off the table on his way into the kitchen, hoping that its contents - and what he dropped the flowers into - happened to at least be water. 

“Iggy?” he called, holding the makeshift bouquet behind his back as he turned the corner of the hall. “Are you decent?”

A familiar, lilting voice rose up in return. “For you? Never.” 

“Good.” 

Grinning now, Noct strode into the kitchen to find that his lover was, indeed, half-naked, clad in nothing but a pair of thin, cotton pants against the heat of the summer day. The younger man took a moment to drink in the sight - lean muscle, powerful limbs, sun-kissed skin, and the scattering of scars he’d memorized by touch - before closing the gap and pulling Ignis into a one-armed hug. “You look amazing, Captain.”

“ _ Noct.”  _ Though he melted back into the embrace, Ignis’ voice was chiding. “I’ve told you, I’m not a -- “

“A captain anymore. I know, I get it. It’s just that….” As he trailed off, he couldn’t resist brushing his lips against the nape of the former pirate’s neck, hitting that spot that he knew sent shivers all the way to the base of Iggy’s spine. “It sounds so  _ sexy.  _ Reminds me of that first night we met back in Insomnia. Do you remember?” 

The knife Ignis had been holding was set down on the counter. His fingers swept over the smooth wood until they found the towel there, and he wiped flour from his hands before turning to favor Noct with a warm smile. “As if I could ever forget. You were absolutely  _ insatiable _ that night. A proper strumpet.” 

“I love it when you talk dirty.” Noct laughed, a light, joyful sound, and pressed himself closer to Ignis’ bare chest. He could have lost himself right then to the power of his lover’s embrace. It was an easy thing to do, especially in the privacy of their hidden retreat, and his absolute favorite of pastimes (followed by sleeping and eating Ignis’ meals, in that order). But just as he leaned up to capture those perfect lips in his own, he remembered the gift he still held behind his back. “Oh! I almost forgot. These are for you.” 

Pressing the glass into Ignis’ hands, he helped to guide the flowers up to his nose. Smiled as Iggy took a deep breath and hummed his contentment. “They smell lovely, Noctis, thank you. Are those sylleblossoms?” 

“Some of them,” Noct answered excitedly. He’d put a fair amount of effort into learning the names of the local flowers once he’d learned how much Ignis appreciated them. “There’re also a few marigolds and some yarrow. I know you how much you like those.”

Ignis’ lips brushed the bridge of his nose in a delicate kiss. “Almost as much as I like you.” 

“ _ Flirt _ .” The glass-turned-vase was set onto the counter behind them, freeing their hands to tangle together at their sides instead. Noct laid his head against Ignis’ chest, listened to the firm, steady beating of his heart beneath, and sent yet another whisper of thanks to Leviathan, the goddess of the sea, for her continued protection. 

There had been a moment, in the dark, twisting caves of Ravatogh so many months before, when Noctis thought he had lost it all. When Ignis had lain bloody and broken in his arms, his sacrifice to Ifrit’s medallion costing him far more than just his eyes. That day, Noct hadn’t given up on him -  _ would never give up on him - _ and had stayed with his unmoving body until his tears had called Ignis’ soul back from hell. Until ggy had sucked in a gasping breath, only to have it stolen away again the second Noct could get his mouth on him. 

Since then, they had both turned their backs on the call of the sea. While Ignis the man may have come back to him, Sagefire - the dread pirate captain - had very much died that day in those caves. Noctis, for one, didn’t regret the choice. He’d already come to realize that the ‘adventure’ he’d been seeking all his life was the feeling of Iggy’s arms around him, the press of lips to his skin and the warmth of his body in their bed at night (and in the morning, and often in the afternoons, too). Between what Ignis had salvaged of his treasure, and what Noct’s father had gifted them by way of apology (though he still hoped to see his son return to Insomnia to take over the family business eventually), they’d had enough money to start a life together on dry land. 

Retirement suited Ignis most of all. He’d learned to get by without his sight rather quickly, taking up cooking and baking to keep his blade skills honed. He also collected books, which he asked Noctis to read to him by moonlight. Often while cuddled up in their bed after an evening of passionate love-making, their limbs still tangled and lips buzzing with the fervor of their kisses.

In short, their lives were almost, nearly, practically perfect. Yet while Ignis felt the power of Noct’s love deep in the marrow of his very bones, he still sometimes caught himself wondering if this - if  _ all of this _ \- was truly enough to make him happy. 

“Noct,” he hummed into jet-black locks, and felt his lover shift to look up at him. “Humor me a moment, if you will?” 

Playful fingers tugged at the hem of his trousers. Ignis smirked. 

“I’m serious. When you went to see off Prompto’s ship today, did you...miss it?”

“Miss what?” Those fingers dipped beneath loose cotton, drawing a gasp from Iggy’s lips even as he continued to speak.

“T-the sea. The open waves. The  _ danger _ .” Noct’s hand found his cock, and each expert stroke over it made the words that much more difficult to form. “Are you...absolutely certain,  _ mmm -  _ that you’re content to spend your days taking care of an old, blind, ex-pirate?” 

For a moment, Noctis didn’t answer with words. Simply continued to move his hand over rapidly hardening flesh, and pressed his mouth in a hot trail of fire up Ignis’ chest, neck, the curve of his throat. Along the ridge of his jaw until he reached his ear, where at last the answer came in the form of a familiar vow. 

“ _ Always _ ,” he whispered, and met Ignis’ lips in kiss that transcended the land, the sea, and even the will of the gods in its might. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Fin~
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! Your comments and feedback with this project have been amazing. You guys are the best readers *sniff* And I'm so proud to have finally finished an AU! If I've left anything unanswered, please feel free to leave me a comment, or hit me up on Tumblr (Lhugbereth) ~ Can't wait to see you in the next universe!


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